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Bullard Blasts Milliken On Secret Police

Bullard Blasts Milliken On Secret Police image
Parent Issue
Day
6
Month
September
Year
1974
OCR Text

State Rep. Perry Bullard of Ann Arbor has blasted Governor William Milliken's statements of August 28 on the State Police Subversive Activities Investigation Division as a "jive, political cop-out."

The Governor said he might support the revision or abolition of the unit but failed to give any information about the extent of the Subversive Activities Division surveillance against the citizens of this state," Bullard stated.

"The Governor told me in a letter Wednesday that State Police Director Col. George Halverson will respond to my letters to the State Police but gave no assurance that my questions will be answered. It is important to the citizens of Michigan as well as to the legislature that the extent of these political investigations be made public."

Bullard emphasized that this action came only after the State Police admitted that they illegally investigated a Detroit-based consumer group and its president, after a Detroit Free Press editorial condemned this abuse of police power.

Bullard was quick to point out that he has yet to receive any answer to nine "very reasonable" questions which he submitted to the State Police in late March. He added that these same questions were sent to Governor Milliken by himself and six other legislators in late June, requesting that the Governor instruct the director of the State Police ( then the notorious Col. John Plants ) to answer them.

Bullard said the public has a right to know how much money is being spent to investigate alleged subversives; how many agents are involved; how many wiretaps are involved; how many bugging devices have been installed; whether files are being kept on legislators; and how many files this unit maintains on individual citizens.

The Ann Arbor legislator also said that he has received information from informed sources that the State Police are presently destroying some of their files which might prove politically embarrassing. He added that this destruction is being done under the guise of "updating" the files.