Benton Harbor City Commissioners are in favor of Election Day being a Day of Grace when police won’t approach people and possibly arrest them over non-violent warrants. However, they don’t want to create the impression that there is such a problem in the city. During a Monday meeting, Commissioner Ron Singleton said he proposed a resolution to declare the Day of Grace, but not to insinuate local police are interested in suppressing the vote.
“There’s definitely no indictment of the Benton Harbor Police Department, so we don’t want that perception to be out there,” Singleton said.
Several commissioners said the real voter intimidation is taking place in other areas of Berrien County, noting police from outside of Benton Harbor could still do as they please. Mayor Marcus Muhammad said there needs to be broader reforms. However, he agreed with the spirit of Singleton’s resolution. After a couple of changes to its wording, the resolution was approved by the commission.
