Jai Kiser was Illegally Evicted by Detroit Police

Jai Kiser was illegally evicted and falsely arrested by Detroit Police officers on April 19th. She and her son are now homeless and have lost all of their possessions. Jai is still facing a false charge of misdemeanor squatting. She has joined the fight for housing justice and needs our support.

 

Jai Kiser moved into a home in Detroit in November of 2021, paying a woman named Domonique Alexander to rent the bottom part of a two-family flat. Domonique Alexander signed a lease with Jai and took multiple rent payments from her.

 

Later in November, someone came to the home claiming to represent the owner of the property. They said that Domonique Alexander was not authorized to rent out the flat. Jai didn't know what to believe and called the police. When the police came to the home in November, they told both parties that this was a civil matter that should be handled through court and that they wouldn't remove anyone.

 

Sure enough, a company called "Land Contract Detroit" took Jai to court to evict her. Jai appeared for a hearing on April 12, where the judge told her that she had until May 10th to move out.

 

But a week later, on April 19, Detroit Police officers came to Jai's home and suddenly arrested her for "squatting." Jai tried to explain that she was not a squatter, had paid to rent the home, and that a judge had ruled that she had until May 10th to move. The police didn't listen and arrested Jai in front of her son.

 

Jai spent the night in jail. By the time she got out the next day, someone had boarded up her home and removed everything in it. Jai and her son lost all of their possessions.

 

Jai and her son are now living in a motel room. While Jai's old home was within walking distance of her son's school, the motel room is miles away. Jai has had to pay rideshare services to take her son to and from school.

 

Jai is self-employed and worked out of her home. Being evicted and losing all of their possessions took away her only source of income.

 

Jai's story is an example of a bigger problem. Detroit Police have shown a pattern of wrongfully evicting and arresting tenants based on dubious allegations of squatting. Landlords have used this to circumvent the legal eviction process. Police do little to no investigation into landlord accusations before victimizing tenants.

 

Please share what you can to help Jai and her son get back on their feet, replace what they lost, and find sustainable housing. And follow Detroit Eviction Defense for more on how to support Jai's fight for justice.

 

DetroitEvictionDefense.org

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