Scrappers Leave Old Detroit Police Precinct A Complete Eyesore
DETROIT (WWJ) - No place is safe from scrap metal thieves in Detroit -- not even police precincts.
The old 7th Police Precinct on Mack and Gratiot avenues is a complete eyesore. The building is covered, inside and out, in graffiti. Piles of old tires surround the broken building which doesn't have any windows or doors -- allowing peering eyes to see straight through.
Ray Anderson, who lives nearby, told WWJ's Vickie Thomas anything inside the building that might have had even the smallest value has been ripped out and stolen.
"Everything is messed up. They stripped it to the teeth and you don't see nothing over here now, not a thing," he said.
The 7th precinct was closed years ago and is currently housed with the 11th precinct on Nevada Street near Mound Road -- both of which patrol the city's northeastern district. But authorities are looking to give the 7th precinct a new home in an old school building on Chene Street, which is currently owned by the water department.
As for what will happen to this eyesore, a spokesperson for Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said old police precincts that cannot be repurposed will be sold.