LANSING — James Craig operated for the entirety of his 8-year stint as chief of Detroit Police Department without completing the process to become “a fully [Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards] certified law enforcement officer” – after pledging that he would in 2013.
And as Cincinnati police chief, he similarly sidestepped Ohio’s mandatory process to get authorized to make arrests and serve warrants, complaining that the state’s Peace Officer Training Commission’s requirements were “overly time-consuming.”
Though he refused to go through the standard process to become a licensed police officer for the final decade of his law enforcement career, Craig has taken far less time to show Michiganders that he is a Certified Question Dodger.
Since he began signaling his political ambitions in May, the Detroit Dodger has displayed a deep disinterest in making it clear for Michiganders to identify where he stands on most issues.
After delivering canned talking points at events coordinated by the party insiders propping up his campaign, Craig is typically whisked away by staff into a waiting SUV, frustrating those that want to know what his agenda is. He even invited Michigan reporters to cover a campaign event only to lock himself inside a glass room where he could only be seen and not heard.
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“The Certified Question Dodger has been a gubernatorial candidate in this crowded and messy Republican primary for months, but that hasn’t gotten Michigan families any closer to knowing what his plan is to revitalize our economy, strengthen our infrastructure, and get folks safely back to work. Instead, he has catered to the ever changing whims of election conspiracy theorists and anti-choice activists. That isn’t leadership – Michiganders will see right through it.”
