In this episode of The Detroit Evening Report, we cover the Detroit Police Department as they increase enforcement of the city’s curfew policy. Plus, Canadian wildfire smoke is headed this way.

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Curfew enforcement

The Detroit Police Department has some new tools to increase enforcement of its curfew policies. City Council approved a bill along those lines on Tuesday, July 29. Parents of violators will see fines rise from $75 to $250 for the first offense. A second offense will result in a fine of $500. That’s up from $100.

Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison says the goal is to prevent crime and keep kids safe.

“We’ve had too many instances of young people being out past curfew and have been arrested with a firearm, have been shot, have done other mischievous type things,” Bettison said. “Just this past weekend, I had a 13 year old that we arrested after curfew, set multiple collision shops on fire. That’s totally not acceptable. 13.”

Parents will no longer face jail time for curfew violations. Fines may be waived if they take a parental responsibility course.

Detroit’s curfew policy requires kids 15 and under to be off the streets between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless they’re with a parent. 16 and 17 year olds have an 11 p.m. curfew.

Air quality alert

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has issued an air quality alert has been issued for all of Michigan for Wednesday, July 30 and Thursday, July 31. That includes the city of Detroit.

Canadian wildfire smoke is traveling south through Michigan today. That will bring fine particulate matter into the area. The result will be air quality that is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. Some areas could increase to the “unhealthy” range.

People with asthma, heart disease and other health conditions should limit their time outside. Those residents should also keep their windows closed. Others should avoid strenuous activities outside until the air quality alert has lifted.

50 years since Jimmy Hoffa disappeared

Today is the 50th anniversary of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. The former head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters vanished some time after arriving at the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township on July 30, 1975. His body has never been found. There are scores of rumors and theories about what happened to him, but none have been proven. Hoffa served as president of the Teamsters union from 1957 until 1971.

Lions to play in Hall of Fame game

The Detroit Lions are getting ready for their first pre-season game of the year. The Lions will play in the nationally-televised Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio tomorrow evening. They play the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Lions have high hopes for the 2025 season. The team won 15 games and lost just two during the regular season last year. Detroit lost the NFC Divisional playoff game to the Washington Commanders to end their season.

The Hall of Fame Game will be played on Thursday, July 31 at 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org. 

Detroiter Duane Williams is suing the city of Detroit and the police and fire departments for $100 million in damages over his wrongful conviction in 2013.

Williams was sentenced to life in prison in connection with a fire that killed two people.

He spent over 11 years behind bars before a judge ordered that Williams be released last year due to the conviction being tainted by false and manipulated testimony. Williams’ attorney, Todd Flood, says investigators lied about a lighter found at the source of the fire that killed two people.

“It was an accidental fire. The fire started on a couch in that room where one of the decedents was severely intoxicated. He was a known smoker, and there was smoking materials found in that room, on that couch,” he said.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

“I’m a prosecutor at heart, I’m a law enforcement guy at heart; I’m a person that stands for integrity,” Flood said. “This shocks the conscience when you look at this lawsuit and you see the people that ultimately conspired to put Dwayne behind bars.”

Williams says he still has mental scars from his near decade spent in prison, describing the difficulties just walking down the street can bring.

“I just kept telling myself, don’t look back, because in prison, you don’t want anybody walking behind you, and you don’t know who it is,” he said. “But I wasn’t in prison. I was free, and I tried so hard not to look back, but I had to stop and look back. I couldn’t help it.”

He said his time spent in prison has also forever changed his relationship with his wife and family.

“People think that the court systems work. People think that the systems that are in place, the appeals process and all these other things, work,” Williams said. “But they don’t work when you’re the person in the system, and that’s sad, and I pray that we’ll find a way to fix that.”

City officials have not responded to the lawsuit and said they will not comment on pending litigation.

Last week, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison joined Mayor Mike Duggan and other officials in announcing the launch of a new teen violence prevention plan.

Under the new plan, minors age 15 and under must be with a parent after 10 p.m. The curfew for children ages 16 and 17 is 11 p.m. The plan also calls for increased curfew enforcement, illegal block party enforcement, and higher fines for breaking curfews.

The “crackdown” on curfew violations is in response to recent shooting incidents involving children in the city. But how effective can that be in stopping violent crime, and what else is the city doing to stop violence at the root?

Bettison joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss the city’s new violence prevention plan and talk about why violence tends to spike during the summer months.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro

Detroit officials announced the launch of a new teen violence prevention plan in response to recent shooting incidents involving children in the city.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

At a news conference on Monday, Mayor Mike Duggan said the city will enforce a 10 p.m. curfew as part of the plan, adding that over the past month, 12 of the 20 shootings involving minors happened late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

“Whatever trouble teenagers may get into in the afternoon and the evening as you start to get to 11, 12, 1 in the morning — whether they’re drinking, whether they’re using substances, whether they’re just beefing — the behavior gets worse and worse,” he said.

Duggan says he will ask the Detroit City Council to raise the fines for parents whose kids are caught outside after curfew without adult supervision. 

Duggan is also authorizing more overtime for the Detroit Police Department, so officers will stay out later to enforce the curfew against groups of teenagers. 

Watch Duggan and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison’s announcement about the effort here.

Reporting by Russ McNamara, WDET News

Other headlines for Monday, July 7, 2025:

• The city of Dearborn has unveiled another ability inclusive playscape. This third installment can be found at Lapeer Park, joining Ford Woods and Crowley parks in providing activities for children with special mobility needs. Dearborn Parks & Recreation worked with disability groups and families to design the park.
• Michigan residents now have the option to take the written portion of the driver’s education course online. The “KnowTo Drive” test can be taken at Michigan Secretary of State branches and offices, and is available in different languages. Eligible Michigan residents over 18 must verify proof of identity and pay a $6.50 convenience fee. They will also have to use a webcam to prove their identity.
• Detroit Documenters is a program that trains and pays people to take notes at public meetings in Detroit. Documenters is hosting a network-wide Virtual Note-taking Practice Session from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9. Participants must complete an orientation training before participating in the note-taking training. The Documenters are also hosting a photo documenting workshop in Tech Town on July 15.  

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.