The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has opted not to apply for a $2 million U.S. Justice Department grant designed to reduce violence. At a Thursday meeting, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten told commissioners the grant could be used flexibly, as decided by the county. The goal was to create community programs to strike at the root cause. Commissioner Rayonte Bell said applying would help the county serve all communities, especially those where violence is a problem.
“There are a lot of people my age and a lot of people who look like me that have really lost faith in the public’s ability to protect and provide services the community they serve,” Bell said.
Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said with police short staffed countywide, it’s important to try to prevent violence in communities where it’s a problem, namely Benton Harbor, Benton Township, and Niles. However, public comments suggested the grant is anti-gun. Also, commissioners were concerned the grant would be going to the health department and not police, with some questioning why it should go through the county at all. Commissioner Bob Harrison read the writing on the wall.
“If indeed this is not the time to go down this path with this grant, I think we as commissioners need to consider what path we want to go down because this will not go away without some kind of concerted community effort, and clearly, we’re not ready for that at this point in time,” Harrison said.
Commissioner Chokwe Pitchford said addressing violence doesn’t mean taking guns away from people. He said there’s a societal rot that’s led to a breakdown in values. Still, other commissioners balked. Chair Mac Elliott suggested applying with a stipulation the county can back out before any funds are awarded, but that was rejected. In the end, the grant was tabled with an understanding the county could apply in the next round of funding.
