Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability
(CPTA)
Art by Emory Douglas, back cover of The Black Panther, July 23, 1971; used by CPTA to announce a Teach-In
The Detroit Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability (CPTA) formed after Detroit police killed 20 year-old Hakim Littleton on July 10, 2020.
May 19, 2022 Press Conference: Call for Federal Investigation of Rise in Detroit Police Violence
EVENT ON MALCOLM X’S BIRTHDAY CITES NEARLY 800 COMPLAINTS, 25 PERCENT RISE IN EXCESSIVE FORCE SINCE 2020
Watch Video of the live-streamed event.
FORUMS - Click the titles below to watch.
The CPTA has organized informative and compelling forums and people's tribunals discussing police violence, the history of police, and local history; highlighting activism; and uplifting Hakim Littleton's family and others harmed by police.
Over several months after Hakim's death, the CPTA held three educational and courageous forums -- October 25, November 19 and November 21, 2020, then collaborated in May 2021 on a youth-based forum. All are recorded, free, and available online.
OCT 25, 2020: THE HAKIM LITTLETON PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL
Event Livestreamed on Facebook from the General Baker Print Shop with the People's Prosecutor: NLG Board Member, Victoria Burton-Harris.
Two-hour online event at which the killing of Hakim Littleton by Detroit police was highlighted, and there were testimonies and various presentations from, among others, Detroit Will Breathe (DWB) founder Nakia Wallace, National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) attorney Jeff Edison, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Mark Fancher, and members of Hakim Littleton’s family.
Portrait of Hakim by Margaret Henige
NOV 19, 2020: A CONVERSATION ABOUT POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST AFRICAN-AMERICANS
Videorecorded conversation with NCBL attorney Jeff Edison, NLG Board Member Julie Hurwitz, and ACLU attorney Mark Fancher, hosted by Keiga Foundation Director Charles Ferrell.
Focused on the Littleton case, the legal remedies, recent advocacy and legal actions by the CPTA, and the larger history of policing and state violence against African Americans from an historical and legal perspective.
NOV 21, 2020: PUBLIC HEARING ON POLICE BRUTALITY
Public hearing on police brutality presided over by elected officials Congresswoman (NLG member) Rashida Tlaib, State Senator Stephanie Chang and Detroit City Council Members Raquel Castaneda-Lopez and Mary Sheffield. Featuring testimony by victims and experts, this was a dignified, intimate, educational, engaging, and dynamic online forum.
DETROIT YOUTH PERCEPTIONS OF THE POLICE / May 25, 2021
One year after the death of George Floyd, who was brutally killed by a police officer, members of the Detroit-based grassroots organization 'Detroit Will Breathe' discuss with African American youth their candid reactions and perspectives about the police. Dr. Gloria Aneb House directs this virtual program.
It also highlights creative dance performances and skits that address this same topic by the Alnur African Dance Troupe, a group of African American youth dancers and drummers facilitated by dedicated master instructor Margaret Robeson (Mama Ayi).
Statement on the Killing of Nakita Williams
December 2021: Detroit Police killed Nakita Williams on December 19, 2021 as she was suffering a mental health crisis. She is the fourth person in emotional distress to […]
License to Use Violence (on Rittenhouse Verdict and Racism)
December 8, 2021: Expressing outrage about a travesty one day, and then moving on to express outrage about a new travesty the next day has become the American way. For example, many people were outraged […]
Statement on Public Safety and Police Chief James Craig, May 12, 2021
May 14, 2021: James Craig has announced he will step down as Detroit Police Chief. We welcome this and have called for it repeatedly. He has ceased to be a servant of the people of Detroit and has […]
Didn’t the police have the option to arrest rather than execute Hakim Littleton?
April 22, 2021: On April 7, 2021, the Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the results of her investigation into the murder of Hakim Littleton. This decision serves only to raise more questions about the use of deadly […]
CPTA Statement on January 6 Coup Attempt
February 1, 2021: The Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability (CPTA), comprised of over 17 grassroots organizations in Detroit, was formed in response to the July 10, 2020 execution of Hakim Littleton, a 22-year-old African American male, by […]
The CPTA is committed to raising community awareness about police brutality, holding the DPD accountable for its actions, and demanding genuine transparency from the department, including an ongoing demand for an independent investigation into Hakim Littleton's killing, as well as other instances of police misconduct in all of its forms against residents of Wayne County.
Member organizations:
ACLU of Michigan
Black Legacy Coalition
Detroit Council of Elders
Detroit Justice Center
Detroit Will Breathe
East Michigan Environmental Action Council
The Hush House Black Community Museum
James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership
Michigan Coalition for Human Rights
Michigan Liberation
Moratorium NOW! Coalition
National Conference of Black Lawyers, Michigan Chapter
National Lawyers Guild, Detroit & Michigan Chapter
Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit
Riverwise Magazine
Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association
We The People of Detroit
Detroit & Michigan NLG members JoAnn Watson, Desiree Ferguson, Victoria Burton-Harris, Julie Hurwitz, and John Royal are some of the Coalition’s founding and active participants.