Detroit, MI
Detroit chief judge hopes other judge handcuffing sleepy teen won’t undermine court
The teen girl was sleepy because she had no permanent spot to stay. But the Detroit judge who caught her nodding off in his courtroom wanted to send a message.
Days after having the teen don jail garb and handcuffs while threatening jail time, 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King is receiving death threats and was temporarily removed from his docket. The girl is traumatized and afraid. Her family hired a lawyer.
It’s a situation antithetical to “the people’s court” atmosphere that one of Detroit’s busiest courts aims to provide, acknowledged Chief Judge William McConico. He also announced King’s temporary removal from the docket and required training.
“We sincerely hope that this incident does not undermine our longstanding relationships with local schools. Our thoughts and actions are now with the student and her family, and we are committed to taking these corrective measures to demonstrate that this incident is an isolated occurrence,” McConico said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that our court continues to uphold the highest standards of fairness and respect.”
‘My daughter is hurt’
Eva Goodman, 15, works with The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit that aims to improve the “green infrastructure” of the city. On Tuesday, Goodman and peers with the project attended King’s courtroom to both watch proceedings and learn from the judge.
While speaking to the teens, King noticed Goodman sleeping. Video of King’s courtroom showed he yelled at her to wake up, but minutes later saw her sleeping again. At that point he ordered her taken into custody.
Latoreya Till said her daughter acknowledged sleeping, but did not understand the gravity of the situation. She has never been in a courtroom before, and never been in trouble before, Till explained.
After court staff led Goodman out of the room, Till said they told her daughter to undress and put on a green jail jumpsuit. Till said her daughter refused to take off certain clothing items, but was given the opportunity to change in an empty room. While there was no staff present in the room observing the minor changing, Till said her daughter believes there was a security camera.
After she changed, Goodman was handcuffed. Video shows she remained out of King’s courtroom for roughly two hours before he brought her back. At that point, he held a hearing, asking a defense lawyer to help her before berating her for sleeping and threatening her with jail time.
Ultimately, King allowed Goodman to leave, but not before asking her peers for a show of hands to decide whether she needed to spend time in jail.
“My daughter is hurt. She is feeling scared. She didn’t want to go to work. She feels like as if her peers went against her. She was real nervous and intimidated,” Till told the Free Press in a phone interview.
“We have to bounce around currently because we don’t have a permanent address. And so, that particular night, we got in kind of late. And usually, when she goes to work, she’s up and planting trees or being active.”
King told the Free Press on Wednesday he thought he acted appropriately.
“I wasn’t trying to punish the young lady. What I was trying to do was, I was trying to serve as a deterrence,” King said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.
“I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation.”
But Till said her daughter did not need the lesson: she’s a kind, smart, funny, athletic teen.
“(King) basically was being a big bully to a child that was sleeping and unaware of the etiquette of a courtroom, because she’s never been there, she’s never been in trouble,” Till said. “She’s not a problem child.”
‘You guys are making me tear up’
King did not return a phone message seeking additional comment on Thursday.
Before being removed from his docket, King conducted court as usual on Thursday, according to YouTube footage of his courtroom. Throughout the morning, viewers commented with messages of support for King.
About 27 minutes into the footage, in between hearings, King appears to review the YouTube comments. Then someone posting under the name “CTRM 234 36th District Court” typed in the chat “receiving death threats.”
King typically presides over courtroom 234.
At the end of his morning docket, he turned to the camera and gave the “heart hands” symbol.
“That concludes the docket for today, folks. Hope to see you tomorrow, same bat station, same bat time,” he said, making a reference to the classic Batman television show.
Later, he appears to type several more times in the chat.
“You guys are making me tear up,” he writes, wiping his eyes, as commenters wish him well.
His final post indicated he’s not allowed to comment on his situation.
It’s unclear how long he will be removed from the docket.
Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X, previously called Twitter, @Dave_Boucher1.
The Detroit Red Wings announced on Wednesday that Steve Yzerman is stepping down from his role as GM and executive vice president.
Yzerman will continue working with the organization as a senior advisor to Red Wings governor and CEO Chris Ilitch.
The Red Wings are now searching for a new head of hockey operations.
“Steve’s lifetime of contributions to the Red Wings has meant more to this franchise than words can truly express, and I have the highest level of respect for his continued commitment to our organization,” Ilitch said in a statement. “We are thankful for Steve’s hard work and dedication as General Manager and are grateful knowing Steve will remain where he belongs – here with the Red Wings family.”
Yzerman returned to Detroit in April 2019 after a successful front office career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, replacing longtime GM Ken Holland.
“I am sincerely grateful to Chris and the entire Ilitch family,” Yzerman said in a statement. “This organization has given me incredible opportunities, from my time as a player to the privilege of returning as General Manager. I’ve appreciated every experience throughout the years, and I’m extremely proud to remain part of this great franchise.”
As the Red Wings commence their search for Yzerman’s replacement, Yzerman will remain in his current role to facilitate the day-to-day of hockey operations until a replacement is named. The organization says it will consider both internal and external candidates for the role.
“Clearly, we are not where we and our fans expect to be as an organization,” Ilitch said. “I’m looking forward to bringing in new leadership to build the championship-caliber organization Hockeytown deserves.”
“My commitment to the Red Wings and this community will never waver, and I look forward to supporting the organization in whatever role is needed to achieve our collective goals,” Yzerman said. “I want to thank our passionate fanbase for their support, as they are what makes Detroit and the entire state of Michigan a very special place in the hockey world.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
DETROIT ― The crowd wasn’t large ― a smattering of about 40 or so people at Detroit’s historic Palmer Park just north of downtown on a warm and muggy summer evening.
The people who did show up were there because they feared something precious could be lost: the relationships between therapists and the people who trust them with their deepest wounds.
This is what democracy often looks like. A tent. Some speakers. Livestreaming on social media. And waning sunlight seemingly trying to figure out whether to set in fiery red-orange or fade behind rainclouds.
It was my pleasure to witness this moment firsthand because we live in a new era ― a period when the most powerful leaders in our government increasingly move to trample on our First Amendment rights. This was the second time within the past 30 days that I have found myself covering the debate surrounding Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s planned reimbursement policy changes affecting limited licensed mental health clinicians.
I’ve written previously about the policy itself. This time, though, something else captured my attention.
It was the people.
Last Friday night’s rally was organized by Caitlin Fleming, a mental health therapist and co-founder of Healer’s Choice, who demonstrated the kind of leadership that rarely makes headlines but often changes communities. She listened as much as she spoke. She created space for others to tell their stories. She reminded those gathered that advocacy is less about anger and more about refusing to become invisible.
At one point, Fleming shared that she lost her former husband to suicide.
Her words carried weight, especially because only days earlier I had written about losing my aunt Geraldine and how grief leaves permanent marks on those left behind. Mental illness, suicide and trauma are not abstract policy debates. Nearly every family carries a story. Every interruption in care has a human face.
That reality echoed through the entire evening.
Mars DeWitt, a limited licensed clinician who previously worked as a teacher, reminded us that change has happened before in Detroit. After addressing the audience, DeWitt told me that they watched the fight for teacher pay, recalling Detroit educators’ successful efforts to improve salaries. “So, I know it’s possible for therapists to fight back in a similar way.… Detroit is one of those inspiring cities in the world because we know how to fight back.”
Their words were less criticism than a declaration of home.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, connected the issue to another community she knows well: veterans.
“Every interruption in treatment increases the risk that a patient, including veterans, falls through the cracks,” she said. “Our veterans should not have to retell their trauma, rebuild our trust or start the therapeutic process from the beginning due to an insurance billing policy.”
Jess Riley of the National Association of Social Workers-Michigan added sobering context. Twenty-five Michigan counties have no psychiatrists. Ten neither have a psychiatrist or psychologist. The Upper Peninsula has no child psychiatrists and no pediatric psychiatric beds.
Whatever one’s position on reimbursement policy, those numbers reveal a behavioral work force already stretched dangerously thin.
Fleming also reminded the audience that communities of color are especially vulnerable to changes in insurance coverage policy because they understand what generational trauma in health care looks like. She cited historical abuses such as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis. She emphasized that clinical supervision should not be a sign that therapists are somehow viewed as inadequate.
“We want people to be supervised not because they are not quality therapists; it’s the human experience. We should always be working in teams.
Notably, Fleming said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has not publicly released data estimating how many patients may lose access to their current therapists under the proposed policy. She said representatives from BCBS Michigan were invited to the forum but did not participate.
Regardless of where this debate ultimately ends, something encouraging happened last Friday evening.
Citizens assembled peacefully. They exercised their First Amendment rights. They shared data, personal stories and deeply held convictions. They urged elected officials to listen. They asked a powerful institution to explain itself.
That is not something to fear.
It is something to celebrate.
That’s because healthy democracies depend on citizens who care enough to show up – even if there are only 40 of them standing together in a Detroit park at the end of a long week, refusing to believe their voices don’t matter.
Byron McCauley is a regional columnist for USA Today Co. in Michigan. Email: bmccauley@usatodayco.com; call (513) 504-8915.
(WXYZ) — The highly-anticipated premiere of “The Odyssey” is officially here, with showtimes starting Thursday across metro Detroit.
The epic, directed by Christopher Nolan, was shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the first film to be shot with them. It will be available to watch in a variety of formats in the area and across the state.
On the website for the film, it lists all of the premium format options and where you can find them. Check out the details below.
IMAX 70mm
This is the premiere format to watch the film, presented in IMAX’s 1.43:1 expanded aspect ratio, according to the website.
“It is the largest and highest-resolution format available and gives you an unparalleled sense of immersion as the image fills IMAX’s signature floor-to-ceiling screen,” the website reads.
Across the country, there are only a 30 theatres that are capable of playing IMAX 70mm, and only one in Michigan. To see the film in that format, you’ll have to go to Celebration! Cinema in Grand Rapids.
IMAX
As we’ve said, “The Odyssey” is the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX cameras. “The film was shot and designed to be experienced on the biggest screen possible, and IMAX delivers on this,” star Anne Hathaway said.
It comes in the 1.90:1 expanded aspect ratio, filling your entire field of vision.
There are several theatres showing the film in IMAX in metro Detroit. They are:
- MJR Southgate
- MJR Troy
- AMC Forum 17 in Sterling Heights
- AMC Livonia 20
- AMC Star Great Lakes
- Cinemark Ann Arbor
70mm
The 70mm film is a large format that “offers a bright, clear image up to 3 times the resolution of standard digital projection formats,” according to the website. It’s shown at a 2.20:1 aspect ratio.
In metro Detroit, there are three theatres showing it in 70mm. They are:
- MJR Southgate
- AMC Forum 17 in Sterling Heights
- AMC Livonia 20
35mm
35mm is the classic film format shown at a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. “It projects light through the entire 35 millimeter frame to deliver clear, high resolution images with rich analog color,” the website reads.
Only the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor is showing the film in 35mm.
Dolby Vision
According to the film’s website, The Dolby Vision projection system has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
“Dolby Vision allows you to experience every detail and nuance captured by the large format film cameras Christopher Nolan used in production,” the website reads.
You can see the film in Dolby Vision at AMC in Clinton Township, Sterling Heights and Great Lakes.
Premium Large Format
The premium large format movie will be in either 2.39:1 or 1.85:1 aspect ratio, depending on the theatre. “It features larger wall-to-wall screens, superior projection technology, including laser projection,” the website reads.
Here are places you can see “The Odyssey” in Premium Large Format.
- MJR Southgate
- Emagine Royal Oak
- Cinemark in Taylor
- MJR in Sterling Heights
- Emagine Woodhaven
- MJR Westland
- The Riviera in Farmington
- Emagine Canton
- MJR Partridge Creek
- Emagine Rochester Hills
- Emagine Macomb
- Emagine Novi
- MJR Chesterfield
MJR Waterford - Phoenix Theatres in Monroe
- Emagine Saline
- MJR Brighton
- Emagine Hartland
-
South Dakota4 minutes agoAARP commits $125,800 to strengthen community projects in Mobridge, Gregory, seven other South Dakota towns
-
Tennessee10 minutes agoFormer Tennessee teacher who allegedly showed nude photo to student indicted by grand jury
-
Texas16 minutes agoTexas AG secures 23andMe bankruptcy settlement after 2023 data breach
-
Utah22 minutes agoMuslim man in Utah was targeted in stabbing because of his religion, police say
-
Vermont28 minutes agoHazy, hot, and humid: Wildfire plumes give southern Vermont skies an odd glow
-
Virginia34 minutes agoFive charged after Virginia Beach Police conduct human trafficking operation
-
Wisconsin46 minutes agoFlood relief grant applications now open for nonprofits, churches in Northeast Wisconsin
-
West Virginia52 minutes agoNew law allows employers to provide benefits for independent contractors in West Virginia
