Racial Bias Experiment Brings Controversy to City Commission Meeting

A white Grand Rapids resident is going viral after using a city commission meeting to demonstrate what he claims is racial and class bias in local policing.

During public comment at a February 24, 2026, meeting, the man identified in city records as Lucas G.R. told commissioners he intentionally drove around without valid license tabs to see if he would be stopped.

"These are mine from a year ago, when I decided to start an experiment to see how long I, as a white dude, could drive around without them and not get pulled over," he said. "Last year, working all the way across town five days a week, driving through 4 or 5 different police jurisdictions. I was never stopped or questioned once."

"But please do keep telling us that there's no racial or class bias in policing."

His comments came just days after the fatal police shooting of Da'Quain Johnson, a 32-year-old Black man, which has sparked protests and renewed scrutiny of policing in the city.

Connection to DaQuain Johnson Fatal Shooting

The shooting occurred on February 18 when Grand Rapids police stopped Johnson while he was riding a bicycle after officers said they believed he was armed. Body camera footage shows officers chasing Johnson, deploying a K-9, and shooting him after the dog brought him to the ground. He died the following day.

Police say Johnson had a loaded gun and posed a threat. But attorneys for his family, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, have challenged that account, arguing the footage released so far does not clearly show Johnson pointing a weapon and questioning whether the use of deadly force was justified.

At the commission meeting, the resident directly connected his experience to the incident. "As a white guy from the South, I gotta say that when I see a Black man running away having dogs sicced on them, it's reminiscent of the plantations of the old South," he said, according to the city's official transcript.

Questions About Police Investigation

The shooting has also sparked debate over the use of police dogs. Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand said the footage raised serious concerns, telling reporters, "If my dog did what I saw in that video, I'd put my dog down," while calling for a review of K-9 policies, according to WZZM 13.

Lawyers representing Da'Quain Johnson's family have raised concerns about discrepancies in police reports regarding the contents of the magazine in the 9mm pistol recovered from the scene.

Having reviewed a redacted copy of multiple documents of a Michigan State Police report into the fatal shooting, the lawyers representing Johnson's family say that the report "does nothing but open even more inquiries."

One notable detail in the reports concerns the contents of the magazine that police claim was Johnson's, a 9mm pistol recovered from the scene. In the original incident report created by Michigan State Police Detective Sergeant Dillard Hayes, the investigative officer in this case, included in the evidence collected was "One (1) Taurus G2C S/N: [REDACTED] two-tone tan and black 9mm pistol recovered from the ground in the SE corner of parking lot. The pistol was loaded with eight (8) rounds in the magazine and one (1) round chambered."

Meanwhile, in the lab report coming out of the Grand Rapids Forensic Laboratory, the report states that included in the evidence received was "1 – 9mm Luger caliber, Taurus, model G2c, semiautomatic pistol, serial number [REDACTED], with an empty magazine."

Asked why the magazine contents are different between the two documents, Spl/Lt. Pat Agema, the public information officer for the Michigan State Police's Sixth District, which includes Grand Rapids, said that police unload firearms and magazines and store ammunition separately as a part of an investigation. "It is standard procedure to secure a firearm by removing the magazine and unloading the weapon," Agema wrote to the Michigan Advance.

But Crump and Ven Johnson, the other lawyer for the family, said that in their opinion, it would not be standard procedure for transporting a firearm to a forensic lab for police to empty the magazine. "If Mr. Crump and I move forward with the lawsuit, which at this point certainly looks likely, one of the many depositions that we'll be taking in this case are the laboratory folks that analyze those," Johnson said in an interview with the Advance. "I agree with Ben, something's off here. I don't get what they're trying to do."

Family Demands Transparency

Both lawyers also raised concerns about the level of redaction in the copies of the report that were released. "Why is it all redacted?" Johnson asked. "What are we hiding? Obviously they have no problem listing my client's name. Obviously they have no problem listing what they believe my client's previous record to be. They don't have any problem listing much, except if it has to do with the officers involved."

Included in the redactions are the names of the officers directly involved in the shooting, which have not been released despite calls from Angelica Johnson, Da'Quain's mother, for transparency since his death.

"If they were proud of what they had done, they would own it," Crump, who along with Johnson also represented the family of Patrick Lyoya, who was fatally shot by Grand Rapids police in 2022, said of the decision not to release the names of officers.

Community Outcry

Da'Quain Johnson's aunt and grandfather have spoken to protesters outside Grand Rapids City Hall, demanding answers in Johnson's death. The shooting has led to renewed community discussions about policing practices and the use of K-9 units in the city.

The Kent County Prosecutor's Office has not yet announced a determination on the shooting.