New Police Video and Records Show GRPD Knew Ramos-Gomez Was a U.S. Citizen Before Turning Him Over to ICE; GRPD Officer Violates Police Policy By Drawing Gun On TeensThe American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) have filed complaints with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) regarding the Grand Rapids Police
This capacity-building allows MIRC to respond not only to the family separation crisis, but also to other significant efforts to restrict the rights of immigrants in this country.For example, MIRC now fields free calls from every detainee and every respondent in immigration court in Detroit.
It also represents individual clients in priority areas including naturalization and citizenship matters and the rights of survivors of domestic violence, refugees, and unaccompanied minors. The officer then drew his gun and pointed it at the teens shouting at them to get on the ground.The ACLU also has filed a complaint with GRPD’s Internal Affairs (IA) unit regarding the treatment of the Latino teen.Officer Diekevers’ treatment of these teens violates the GRPD’s own Youth Interaction Policy, which requires officers to take age into account when interacting with youth, recognizing that “youth characteristically lack the capacity to exercise mature judgment and possess an incomplete ability to understand the world around them.” Among the factors officers must consider are the nature of the complaint or contact, and the subject’s cooperation. The ACLU and MIRC obtained video and documents from the GRPD through the Freedom of Information Act regarding the arrest of Mr. Ramos-Gomez. What does MIRC stand for?
The teen pulled away from the officer's grip, while insisting he and his friend had done nothing wrong. BREAKING NEWS ‼️ Today Eduardo, Gerardo and 4 co-workers who came to the U.S. on # H2A visas filed a lawsuit against Four Star Greenhouse, Inc., source of nationwide Proven Winners® plants, for # labortrafficking and retaliation. You can fill out your absentee ballot at home and mail it in, or you can go vote in person at your local clerk's office and request and fill out your absentee ballot there.“Despite police body camera video recordings and hundreds of pages of records showing that GRPD police Captain VanderKooi violated police policies when he turned Mr. Ramos-Gomez over to ICE and tried to turn over others, he is not only exonerated but reinstated, without sufficient protections that he won’t do so again,” said MIRC attorney Hillary Scholten. In this case, the teens were jaywalking and immediately went to the sidewalk when Officer Diekevers asked.The ACLU and MIRC filed a complaint on behalf of Mr. Ramos-Gomez for the discriminatory treatment by GRPD police Captain Curt VanderKooi, who called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Mr. Ramos-Gomez on November 21, 2018, even though he was carrying his passport and other identification proving he is an American citizen. DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) sent letters today to nine county sheriffs, prosecutors, and two police chiefs, urging that they stop detaining people in jails at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a court order. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC), a Community Foundation grantee, is a legal resource center for Michigan’s immigrant communities.MIRC works to build a thriving Michigan where immigrant communities experience equity and belonging. As immigration rights have come to the forefront of national conversation, MIRC recently sent out a recent update, stating: The video shows that the GRPD knew Mr. Ramos-Gomez was an American citizen with PTSD. Without giving time to comply, the officer grabbed the teen. They are each given MIRC’s intake number and MIRC provides legal information, advice about their rights and options, and/or referrals. Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) - Legal Assistant (Grand Rapids) Date Posted: Monday, May 11, 2020 - 9:30am.
This was not possible a year ago. As immigration rights have come to the forefront of national conversation, MIRC recently sent out a recent update, stating:Through support from individuals and foundations such as CFSEM, MIRC has increased capacity by hiring ten new staff attorneys and six new staff for outreach, intake, policy, and administrative work since November 2016. The records show how the recently exonerated and reinstated GRPD Captain VanderKooi routinely contacted ICE about victims of crimes and people held in police custody, despite his claim that he asked ICE to check Mr. Ramos-Gomez’s status only because of concerns about potential terrorism.“The Grand Rapids police cannot be trusted to police itself, which is why we are filing today’s civil rights complaints,” said ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman. Officer Diekevers approached the teens with his hand on his holstered gun, and insisted that the teens could not leave, and had to put their hands on their heads while he checked if they had warrants.