In a press release received by Rochester Media, it was announced that Rep. Tom McMillin’s (R-Rochester Hills) SWAT-reporting bill, HB4914 will get a hearing on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 in the Michigan House Criminal Justice committee. The bill would require law enforcement agencies involved in SWAT raids to be transparent about their SWAT raid activities, including:
- How many raids they participated in.
- The reason for the raids.
- What legal authority they had, including the kind of warrant, if any.
- Results of the raids, such as number of arrests made, whether a forcible entry was made, weapons discharged, persons or domestic animals injured or killed.
The reports would be required to be filed every six months under the bill.
McMillin said, “Who can argue with transparency…especially when we’re talking about guys in military fatigues, bashing in citizens’ doors, using flash grenades, high-powered weapons, and armored-vehicles. This kind of transparency is a no-brainer.”
The hearing comes at a time when SWAT raids are in the news, with the retrial of Detroit Police Officer Weekely, who shot and killed little 7-year old Aiyana Jones during a SWAT raid at a wrong location. Also, the extent of the militarization of police departments has been given greater scrutiny lately, especially since the military-style response to the Ferguson, Missouri protests in August.