MAP Calls For Resignation of Pontiac Councilman

The Michigan Association of Police (MAP) has called for the resignation of Pontiac Councilman Kone Bowman, claiming the city official has "violated the public trust" and "baselessly maligned police officers".

MAP Executive Director Fred Timpner announced the position of the Union, which represents Pontiac's patrol officers, during a press conference today on the front steps of the city's police department. He described verbal atttacks and misconduct claims made by Bowman against officers as both irresponsible and inflammatory.

"It has become very obvious that Kone is a phony," Timpner declared. "His allegations against individual officers are phony and his accusations of racism against the department are phony. None of the claims he has made or the actions he has taken are based on facts."

"We believe that Councilman Bowman's resignation is clearly warranted because he has misused, and is continuing to misuse, the powers of his office to pursue personal goals. In doing so he has conducted a witch hunt against certain police officers and he has unfairly characterized the entire police department that serves his community. Further, the incident that apparently set him off in the first place - a dispute between his mother and a neighbor - is a civil issue, not a criminal one."

Timpner pointed out that official documentation supports police officers in both the individual incidents cited by Bowman and the department's recent record of racial evenhandedness.

"The response of the Officers following September 10 conflict between Bowman's mother and her neighbor was tape-recorded," he said. "This record demonstrates that the officers followed procedure, behaved and spoke appropriately and handled the situation in exemplary fashion. Copies are being made available to the media."

"Documentation of the subsequent and separate arrest incident that was seized upon by Councilman Bowman similarly shows that appropriate, by-the-book actions were taken by all police officers involved. The idea that racism was somehow in the picture is absurd. In fact, three of the officers at the scene are members of minority groups. This absolutely refutes the kinds of claims to the contrary that Councilman Bowman has so irresponsibly made."

A variety of facts contradict Bowman's racism accusations against the Pontiac PD, Timpner said. He pointed to several examples:

• That the department's demographics are the most representative of the community in more than a century - 49% of its sworn personnel are minority, and 62% of its leadership (rank lieutenant and above) are minority.

• That the volume of citizen complaints against officers has dropped by 38 percent.

• That of all trafic tickets issued by the department in 2003 (most recent calculations), 2,973 went to Caucasian drivers and 2,448 to African-American drivers - this in a city which is 39% Caucasian and 47% African-American.

"These and other facts illustrate that, regarding his slurs against Pontiac's officers and their department, Kone is most certainly a phony," Timpner said. "The outstanding men and women officers of many backgrounds who put their lives on the line for the citizens of Pontiac definitely deserve better. They have made this a fine and honest department that is consistently improving."

"Kone Bowman wouldn't stand for the kind of treatment he's dishing out if he were receiving it. Instead, he should be above this kind of behavior, but apparently he isn't. On the other hand, he's not above the law. He should acknowledge that fact by resigning from public office."