The Algiers Motel incident (also called the Algiers Motel murders) occurred in Detroit, Michigan, United States, throughout the night of July 25–26, 1967, during the racially charged 12th Street Riot. At the Algiers Motel, approximately east of where the riot began, three civilians were killed and nine others abused by a riot task force composed of the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Police, and the Michigan Army National Guard. Among the casualties were three black teenage boys killed, and two white women and seven black men wounded. The task force was searching the area after reports were received that a gunman or group of gunmen, possibly snipers, had been seen at or near the motel.

One death has never been explained as the body was allegedly found by responding officers. Two deaths have been attributed to "justifiable homicide" or "self-defense". Charges of felonious assault, conspiracy, murder, and conspiracy to commit civil rights abuse were filed against three officers. Charges of assault and conspiracy were also filed on a private security guard. All were found not guilty.

Background

Riot

The 12th Street Riot began in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967. The Detroit Police Department at the time was 93% white, of whom 45% working in black neighborhoods were considered to be "extremely anti-Negro" and an additional 34% were "prejudiced". The riot began after police raided a black-owned business that hosted a "blind pig" (illegal bar), during a party to celebrate the safe return of two black Vietnam War veterans. Police had expected a small number of patrons; however, there were 85 or more patrons inside. As the dozens of partygoers were being loaded into police vans, a mob of people formed around the scene. One of the sons of the blind pig's owner jumped on the roof of a car and threw a bottle at the police, and the mob followed suit. Prior to Gant and Pye's purchase in 1965, the motel's white owner had barred black people from staying at the motel. The Algiers was considered by the police to be a center of illegal drugs and prostitution and was raided regularly by the vice squad.

According to testimony, three of the black youths—Cooper, Clark, and Forsythe—and the two white youths, Hysell and Malloy, were listening to music in a third-floor room of the annex. Cooper pulled out a starter pistol and shot blanks in the air, drawing return fire from the various authorities outside. Alarmed and frightened, the occupants fled to other rooms as law enforcement personnel rushed into the annex. However, the Detroit Free Press interviewed the witnesses of the events, who all claimed to have been unarmed and that the dead men were not snipers.

Five days after the incident, The Detroit News reported the story of one of the survivors, Robert Lee Greene, stating that one of the National Guard warrant officers murdered the men.

Charge of Melvin Dismukes

Security guard Melvin Dismukes, who was black, was the first to be charged. He was arraigned for the felonious assault of James Sortor and Michael Clark in the first-floor hallway of the annex. He was freed on $1,500 bail. Dismukes's trial took place in May 1968. He was found not guilty of the charge of felonious assault. The all-white jury returned the verdict in 13 minutes.

Investigations

Officer Ronald August, Officer Robert Paille, and Officer David Senak, confessed to taking part in the killings of Pollard and Temple and were charged with murder. Each spent one night in jail and was released on $5,000 bail. At the pretrial examination, Guard Warrant Officer Ted Thomas identified August as the shooter of Pollard and 23-year-old Vice Patrolman David Senak as the officer who did the questioning and beating. Senak had allegedly taken part in the killing of two men earlier in the riot before arriving at the Algiers Motel. Paille's initial confession was ruled inadmissible and August claimed self-defense. Senak appeared as a witness and testified that he had not seen August or Paille fire their weapons. One of the motel survivors, Michael Clark, gave conflicting evidence that August and Paille had taken him into a room and threatened him when Hersey falsely wrote Senak and Thomas had actually done so. Judge DeMascio ruled that August could be indicted for the murder of Pollard, but charges against Paille for the murder of Temple were dropped.

Protest tribunal

The Citywide Citizens' Action Committee, organized by Dan Aldridge, was formed by a coalition of Detroit black leaders. They held a tribunal of their own, convicting August, Paille, Dismukes and Thomas for their roles in the murders and sentencing them to death. The jury included novelist John Killens and activist Rosa Parks. Without revealing himself, Dismukes attended the tribunal.

Arrest of Robert Paille and David Senak

On August 23, Ronald August, Robert Paille and David Senak were arrested for conspiracy under Michigan law. The conspiracy trial began on September 27 in Recorder's Court. The trial was three days in length. Judge Frank Schemanske dismissed the conspiracy charges in December. Schemanske concluded that while there was "unfortunate violence" at the motel, it was "scarcely surprising" The decision was appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court but that was later dismissed.

Trial of Robert Paille

The dismissal of the murder charge against Paille by Judge DeMascio during the pre-trial was appealed by Prosecutor William L. Cahalan. Recorder's Court Judge Geraldine Ford ordered the case back to Judge DeMascio for further testimony. Paille's attorney Norman Lippitt then appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which chose not to hear the case. Lippitt then appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. In 1970, the Supreme Court ruled that the Wayne County Court of Appeals should determine whether the case could be reopened. In 1971, the Wayne County Court ordered the Recorder's Court to take additional testimony. He cited the testimony of Detroit detective Charles Schlacter, who stated that he "viewed both August and Paille" as suspects when he took the statements. Schlacter stated that if he had informed them of their rights, they would not have confessed. In Ryan's judgment, the law meant that persons must be advised of their right to remain silent in what was an "atmosphere of coercion."

Trial of Ronald August

The first-degree murder trial of Ronald August was held in May and June 1969 in Mason, Michigan. It had been moved from Detroit to escape publicity, partly because of a 1968 book on the incident. In opening statements, defense attorney Norman Lippitt described Pollard as "an antisocial personality" and "potential killer" and the killing by August as "justifiable homicide" while prosecutor Avery Weiswasser described the killing as "murder with malice aforethought and with full premeditation."

August admitted killing Pollard, describing it as "justifiable homicide" because Pollard had attempted to grab his shotgun. According to Thomas, August said no words throughout the incident. She testified that she could not identify August as one of the officers and that she had not seen any of the killings.

State Troopers Philip Martin, John Fonger and Archie Davies testified at the trial. All testified to the lineup and beatings going on and officers taking individuals from the line into motel rooms and shooting their guns in a "game" to frighten the prisoners. Davies and Fonger testified that they heard shots and then a man in blue shirt and riot helmet leave room A-3, ejecting empty shells from a revolver, stating "that one tried for my gun" and "the room is secure". Martin testified that he saw no resistance, no sniper weapons and no arrests made while at the motel. After Fonger reported the events to his supervisor, the supervisor stated that it was "in the hands of the Detroit Police and he didn't like what was going on" and the Troopers left.

On June 3, August testified in his own defense. He stated that he saw the bodies of Cooper and Temple when he entered the building, and saw a lineup against the wall. He testified that, when asked by Senak, he took Pollard into room A-3 and closed the door. There, Pollard asked if he was going to shoot him. August said he would not and he had never shot anyone. He asked Pollard if he knew anything about a sniper and Pollard said he did not. August testified that Pollard then pushed August's shotgun away and then grabbed the gun. August stated then he tried to fire the gun, but the safety was on. Pollard then came at him and he fired, killing Pollard. He testified: "I thought he was going to take the gun away from me. He scared me." as both the defense and the prosecution had requested. After deliberating for 2 ½ hours, the jury found August not guilty.

Federal conspiracy trial

The earlier Schemanske decision incensed Kenneth McIntyre, the assistant U.S. District Attorney, and he pushed to reopen a federal investigation of the killings. It, like the August murder trial, had been moved from Detroit partially because of the publication of The Algiers Motel Incident. It meant it was nearly impossible to get any black persons on the jury. Defense lawyer Lippitt represented the policemen and admitted later that he felt the book publishing had helped his case as he felt that no black person in Detroit would be impartial. "I wouldn't want a black man on the jury. I was hoping for all the prejudice I could get."

The other woman held prisoner at the motel, Juli Hysell, testified at the trial. She testified about the starter pistol incident and the lineup in the hallway, but could not identify any of the defendants as being present at the motel. James Sortor, another of the black youths held at the motel, did identify the defendants August, Paille and Dismukes as being present at the motel, but he testified that he had not heard any shooting inside the motel. He stated that he "was beaten so many times he lost count." Roderick Davis testified that he had heard the shots and the sounds of people running on the stairs.

Several witnesses were called to support the charge of a cover-up by August, Paille and Senak to save face. Police Lieutenant Robert Boroni testified about the contents of the July 29 first report the three policemen filed stating that they entered the motel, saw the lineup, saw that the prisoners were already wounded and left. August's July 31 statement stated that he did not fire his gun inside the motel, and he saw no Guardsmen on the premises. Detroit homicide detective Robert Everett testified that August filed a separate statement two hours later that he had shot Pollard in self-defense and that Paille admitted shooting Temple. Police Lieutenant Gerald Hallmark provided a statement that later that day August and Paille asked to revise their statements. According to Hallmark, August said "the media have the events all wrong and that he did what he had to do."

After deliberating for nine hours, an all-white jury found the four not guilty of conspiracy. In a review of the trial, the Detroit Free Press felt that prosecutors Avery Weiswasser and McIntyre were "outpointed by Lippitt." Hersey stated in the book that he "will not take any money from any source for the publication of this story".

Legacy

Lives of police officers

The Detroit Police Department rehired Ronald August and David Senak in 1971, after firing them in the aftermath of the Algiers Motel killings. The DPD refused to rehire Robert Paille, citing the false statements he made in his initial incident report. Paille took other jobs including crane operator, construction worker, carpenter and insurance agent. Senak opened a construction business. Dismukes became a security guard for the Detroit Pistons. He received death threats from the Black Panthers. August resigned from the Detroit Police in July 1977. He became a building tradesman. August, Paille, and Senak all moved out of Detroit.

Lippitt

Norman Lippitt later became an Oakland County Circuit Judge in 1985, then returned to private practice in 1987 in Birmingham, Michigan.

Algiers Motel

In 1968, Cahalan filed suit to close down the Algiers Motel but was unsuccessful. It re-opened as "The Desert Inn". The motel and manor house were demolished in 1979. This was done as part of the "New Center" urban renewal project sponsored in part by General Motors. The Motel was located at 8301 Woodward Avenue, between Woodward and Virginia Park in the geographic center of Detroit. The site where the motel and the manor house stood is now an open greenspace known as Virginia Park.

Lawsuits

Both the Pollard family and the Temple family filed lawsuits against the Detroit Police officers. Settlements were reached in each case. In 1976, the City of Detroit paid each family $62,500 ($ today) to settle.

Life of Larry Reed

Larry Reed left The Dramatics after the incident, and today sings in church choirs.

Historical marker

In July 2024, a historical marker went up at the site.

In 2013, Mercilee Jenkins' play Spirit of Detroit was performed at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The plot tells the stories of Anthony, a black man, and Lucy, a white woman, who were friends in childhood and reunite at the Algiers Motel while hiding out from the violence during the 1967 Detroit uprising.

In 2017, Annapurna Pictures released Detroit, a feature film dramatization of the 12th Street Riot and the Algiers Motel incident, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The movie soundtrack includes a singing performance by Algee Smith of Larry Reed's song "Grow".