NEWS ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ashley Smith
Victim’s Sister
(254) 290-7303
Event video: https://youtu.be/TYLizRALRcc
#Justice4Sheldy #JusticeForSheldy
Scotty Boman, D.R.A.C.O. Founder
Phone: (313) 247-2052
scottyboman@hotmail.com
April 16th, 2020
D.R.A.C.O. Organizes 2nd #Virtual Protest Against Promoting Violent Detroit Police Corporal
Detroit, MI – Members of the victim’s family, and community organizers are outraged by arbitrator George Roumell’s claim that Detroit Police Corporal Dewayne Jones should be promoted to Sergeant, and are resolved to hold a virtual protest at the Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) meeting this Thursday (April 23rd, 2020) at 3:00 PM. The protest will include statements during the “Oral Communication” portion of the meeting. Dewayne Jones was convicted of assault on March 19th 2019 in the August 2018 beating Detroit Receiving Emergency Room patient Sheldy Smith.
Smith’s sister Ashley wrote a letter that will be on this Thursday’s agenda. She previously produced a video to promote the first protest. In which she said,
My name is Ashley and I am the sister of the victim in this video. I am a Central Michigan University graduate and a disabled U.S. Army vet. Please join D.R.A.C.O. (Detroit Residents Advancing Civilian Oversight), my family, and the residents of Detroit in a virtual protest to stop the promotion of convicted criminal, Detroit Police Corporal Dewayne Jones.
On April 16th Grant Ha restated the same information he first shared on April 9th and that he still didn’t have the official document from the arbitrator. At their April 9th meeting Detroit Police Department (DPD) attorney Grant Ha announced the decision by appointed arbitrator George Roumell to promote Corporal Dewayne Jones to the rank of Sergeant. Roumell sent the message to Ha by email, but a Ha said he expected a formal letter to follow. On January 16th the BOPC voted unanimously to reject the promotion. The Detroit City Charter says all promotions must be approved by the BOPC.
At the meeting on April 16th Boman, founder of Detroit Residents Advancing Civilian Oversight (DRACO) said,
We must make it clear that we don’t recognize any effort by anyone to usurp the Board’s final authority on promotions. It is their duty to instruct the DPD to refrain from this promotion, and to instead, dismiss this bad apple from the company of Detroit’s finest. This may be challenged in court. Insubordinate elements in the DPD may try to defy the Board. It is their duty to take on court challenges and dismiss insubordinates.
The meeting (and thereby the protest) will be via the Zoom meeting app at: https://cityofdetroit.zoom.us/j/397380647?pwd=S1kzVzU4RURFb2NBRGJIb1kwWVNjdz09
By telephone, call one of these numbers:
1 (929) 436-2866, 1 (312) 626-6799, 1 (346) 248-7799,
1 (301) 715-8592, 1 (669) 900-6833, 1 (253) 215-8782
Enter the BOPC Meeting ID 397380647 and press ##
The virtual meeting will use a form for public comments:
https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/d26fa38cc5e94a018836d065000714ce
Link to agenda: https://draco4life.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/agendaapril23-2020.pdf
Detroit Residents Advancing Civilian Oversight 