Detroit city council rejects extending curfew for River Days

The vote was rejected by a close 4-3 vote. 

Detroit Police Chief James Craig spoke at the city council meeting on Tuesday and said he doesn't believe it's too much to ask of parents.

"I don't think it's a lot to ask to have a parent, a guardian, or another responsible adult to supervise," Craig said.

Detroit police wanted a three-day curfew for those 17 and under, for River Days from  8 p.m. to 6 a.m. River Days is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The curfew would start even earlier at 6 p.m. for Monday's fireworks show. 

Tuesday, just before 5:30, the city council voted down the proposal to expand the curfew.

Why is the city taking these measures? They say due to past problems - but some city council members, including Janee Ayers, want proof.

 "I haven't heard the numbers to support the argument," Ayers told FOX 2's Charlie Langton. "The bottom line is, how do we validate that it's this particular age group? How do we validate that it's only these children in this area? It's all about the facts"

In the past, the curfew started at 10:00 p.m. Craig said the reason for the earlier curfew is a rise in violence during River Days. 

In 2012, there were nine violent incident, in 2013 there were 17, and last year there were 31 reports of violence. Council President Brenda Jones doesn't want all other young teens to suffer for these past problems.

"I have a concern when you hold all children responsible for what 31, 17, 19 have done, years ago," Jones said.

She's not alone. 16-year-old Tatiana Collins doesn't understand why she's being punished.

"I don't know why they're doing that,"Collins said. "It's not all of us. Why are we getting punished for other people's actions?Complicating matters for this weekend is 25,000 people coming to town for the National Baptist Convention.