As if Detroit has the money to spare. Two police men who were punished for detailing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's antics while providing body guard protection received a total of $6.5 million in compensation for the actions. In the City of Detroit, where a recent review in Harper's magazine attempted to save face upon the city by making the best of the "new urban landscape" that has been created as long abandoned housing is being torn down........the tried to make the most of it and told of the opportunity for URBAN FARMING where they can grow their own food!! Yeah - that will sure turn once valuable real estate into tax generating entities for the city. The sum of $6.5 million comes at a time where other greater pressing needs will be shortchanged.
I don't go for jackpot sums in these type of cases but the fact is Kilpatrick comes from a family with a litigious civil rights history and thus set the stage for this type of diversion of city funds. Just as the $17 million award to the White librarians who said they were discriminated against by Black administrators in Fulton County Georgia, surely this money could have been put to better use than into the pockets of certain individuals - including the trial attorney who brought the case.
I doubt if the typical backers of "Whistle Blower" rights will trumpet this ruling as a slam dunk victory. They will be torn between their loyalties to the "Hip Hop" mayor and that of the victims.
I get the feeling that Bev Smith will be using this as an example of abuse by government officials on her radio show. :-/
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