Detroit block party scrutiny should have come months ago, after teen was killed | Opinion

The May 18 shooting of Taylor Gladney should have been the Detroit Police Department’s first warning that the city needed to crack down on large gatherings at houses during the summer.

Taylor, 17, wanted to hang out that Saturday night with other teenagers. It was an annual event held in different areas in the city. Her mom, LeCretia McCollough, was apprehensive, but decided to let her go.

Less than an hour later, Taylor was shot and on May 22, her family took her off of life support, ending her life.

“I’m upset at myself for allowing her to go because of the outcome, but we can’t predict the future or what’s going to happen,” McCollough says. “People get upset (and) they want the families to feel what I’m feeling, but my heart won’t allow me to do so. I would never wish this pain on anybody, but you want answers.”

Detroit police announce block party crackdown after 21 people shot

Now her family, still mourning, is left wondering whether the city should have made moves to curtail neighborhood violence before an astounding 27 people were shot at six Detroit parties during the long Fourth of July weekend.

Taylor’s May shooting, which occurred on Manning Street near Gratiot Avenue, was only a few blocks from the worst of last weekend’s shootings, where 21 were shot Saturday at a party near Rossini Drive and Reno Street, two of them killed.

More: Detroit block party mass shooting was the state’s worst since at least 2013

“That’s the very frustrating part. I’m angry about (last weekend) because I’m quite sure (police) knew that there was a party going on,” says Taylor’s father Tyrell Gladney.

“I don’t know what police can do, except for when they see a super large gathering, just put some presence there. Just sit there, because that’s not going to stop a family — just having a party — have a party. (But) it will probably stop the guys that’s coming around, just shooting up the parties for no reason. Every time I look at my daughter I have to cry and I get angry.”

The infrequent police presence bothers me, and should annoy anyone else who intimately cares for this city, that it took Police Chief James White and Mayor Mike Duggan so long to roll out their new plan for these “block parties” in city neighborhoods.

Taylor was set to be a senior at University Prep High School, the same school she attended since fifth grade. Her mom says Taylor is the loving, cuddling type of child who rarely got upset with people and was called the mother among her group of friends. The cheerleader also loved her hair and wanted to be presentable at all times.

“She was just full of life,” says LeCretia McCollough, who’s lost 30 pounds since Taylor’s death. “This pain is indescribable. I am having a hard time, because even at 17, my daughter was such a hugger and cuddler.

“I still wait (for) her at night to come get in the bed with me because she wanted to be rubbed on or she is cold and wanted my body heat. So, I’m having a hard time, especially at night.”

That’s what infuriates me. The city had a chance to come up with a plan months ago and blew it.

But let’s be clear: these are not typical block parties that many of us are used to where the block is shut down at each corner and neighbors gather for an afternoon of fun.

These are more like street parties where young people take over a block, or gatherings at a person’s house where loud music and people spill into the front lawn or other areas of a neighborhood.

Whatever you want to call them, swift action could have been taken months before last weekend’s incidents. There were over 500 calls since May warning that this was getting out of control, police acknowledged.

Instead, this city — which touts a major comeback — waited until Monday to get results from its leaders.

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying we want a proactive city government — not one that comes out with plans in the aftermath of international headlines.

By then, it’s too late. Too many lives have been lost, whether it was Taylor or Elijah Reese, a sophomore at East English Village Preparatory Academy who was killed on his way home from school May 22 in the same neighborhood.

“I didn’t know anything about a ‘red zone’ until my daughter’s situation,” Tyrell Gladney says. “They said that area is known for high crime. If you’re known for high crime, put (in a) high police presence.”

What I’m not understanding is why the Detroit Police Department has not implemented any of what was put in place after a major shooting in 2015, where one man was killed and nine others were injured during a party at a basketball court on the west side.

Police officials and city spokesman John Roach did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.

Twila Moss, who is Taylor’s aunt, is still upset that there has been little action to help people who are legitimately just trying to have fun.

“I guess I’m angry … Angry, sad and mad at the same time,” Moss says. (I’m) angry that it’s happening to so many of our youth.

“But the way I’ve been hearing it, it’s more like it’s someone else that’s coming to the party or shooting up these parties when it’s not really the people that’s at the parties. So do we not allow our kids to go out? Do we not allow them to have fun? Do we not have a gathering?”

What angers Tyrell Gladney the most is infrequent communication about his daughter’s killing, for which no one has been charged.

“I understand they have to get leads and stuff like that, but in my daughter’s situation, it took them a minute to come speak to us,” Tyrell Gladney says. “I haven’t or heard a whole lot either unless I reach out to them. (But) I understand the situation is tedious and there’s a lot going on with more shootings every other weekend.”

Having Detroiters safe in their neighborhoods is the most fundamental function of a city government.

Taylor’s killing should have been the start of putting plans in place, not nearly two months later.

By then — we learned the hard way Saturday night — it was too late.

Darren A. Nichols is a contributing columnist at the Free Press. He can be reached at darren@dnick-media.com or his X (formerly Twitter) handle @dnick12.

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