Police Chief Wows 'Em
Serious, humorous, and grateful were the tones displayed when Police Chief Corrigan O'Donohue spoke to 30-some representatives of mostly nonprofit groups during the meeting of the Inter-Club Council at the Woman's Club on Friday.
The gratitude came first, when O'Donohue took several minutes to thank Royal Oak voters for passing the millage. One result of that approval is making it possible for the Police Department to begin recovering from staffing cuts which had been deep enough to halt some operations. The serious came when the chief described that rebuilding process as complex and slow, but "We're not complaining. It's a good problem to have. The mood is optimistic.." As the nearby photograph reveals, the chief appeared almost prayerful as he thought before answering a question. The humorous came in moments like when -- while citing statistics which reflect a downward trend in crime -- he revealed "a 100 percent rise in armed robbery . . . from 1 to 2."
It happened that newly elected District Judge Derek Meinecke and School Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin were present, and there was banter and informative exchanges among the three public officials about topics like police-court cooperation and domestic violence-training and the role of traditional friendly and advisory police presence in Royal Oak schools long before the recent massacres. During the exchanges Judge Meinecke took the opportunity to invite the public to visit the court, "preferably on Wednesday morning when probation matters are the focus." He promised visitors "a good seat, but not in the box."
During the Q&A discussion of the role of the police in dealing with mentally ill people, O'Donohue was understanding but quietly emphasized, "When facing a 300-pound man with a knife . . . “
The Police Department’s role, he made clear, is “To keep Royal Oak safe.”
Ronald Wolf
12:46 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Thankyou Frank good job. The Royal Oak Police are still outnumbered, especially downtown. While violent crime, including armed robbery gets most of our attention there is a much more costly crime that is ruinning younger lives both physically and mentally that is tolerated with a shoulder shrug.
Specifically I am talking about alcoholism, and all its problems. I truly believe that unless there is a spell of heavy rain there will likely be a tragedy this year based on the odds. Surprise, I do not blame the young drunks, no more than I blame the drug addicts. I blame the pushers, our bars and in the case of Royal Oak I also blame the money hungry courts and our leaders for not being more strict regarding the problems of overserving and underage serving. It's apparent Royal Oak is extremely hesitant to go after those bars that cannot say no to an order for a drink. All it takes is one look into the glazed eyes, the puffiness of the face, the slurred speech. These are signals that drinks must stop coming to that table, not just the the drunk. There is a fine line between alcohol poisoning and intoxication which is ticketable in Royal Oak. I have two questions, what is the ratio of tickets written to bars verses the drinkers. How many tickets are written for intoxication and alcohol compared to all other tickets downtown? I do not believe this is how families in RO want to see our city funded. RO badly needs a bar association working with a tougher PD and commission.