Skip to Top NavigationSkip to ContentSkip to Footer
Ferris State University BulldogFerris State University Logo

Ferris Alumnus Provides Support, Took Part in Detroit Justice March

Ken DilgFirst Lieutenant Ken Dilg (pictured in Michigan State Police uniform), a 1997 graduate of Ferris State University, joined with organizers of a peaceful protest Friday, June 5, in the city of Detroit. Dilg was tasked to develop the MSP operational plan for the protest, which saw up to 1,000 people march across the MacArthur bridge to call for justice, following the recent killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. (Image received courtesy of Major Emmitt McGowan, MSP)

A group of nearly 1,000 people, according to media outlets, marched in Detroit across the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle on Friday, June 5. The march, part of a call for justice in the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, included a Ferris State University alumnus and current Michigan State Police administrator.

Alumnus Ken Dilg, who serves as the section commander of a multi-jurisdictional drug task force in the Detroit metropolitan area, said that he was tasked by MSP District Two Commander Tom Deasy to develop an operational plan for the event.

“We reached out to the event organizers, including Ken Snapp, a former Detroit mayoral candidate,” Dilg said. “We offered them suggestions on safety since they planned to march across the Belle Isle Bridge to a stage in the park. We found the organizers to be very responsive, which included our gathering early on the morning of the march to complete a walk-through and review our plans.”

Dilg was one semester from completing his Bachelor of Science in Business Management, in 1994, when he was admitted to the Michigan State Police Academy. He returned to Ferris and earned his degree in 1997.

Dilg said that the Michigan State Police units in a support role at the march site blocked traffic so that marchers could safely cross the bridge. He asked organizers if those on-site officers could join the march.

“We wanted to show support for this peaceful cause while helping to ensure a safe protest,” Dilg said. “The organizers suggested that we spread out among the participants, so I joined organizers at the front of the procession with my associate, Major Emmitt McGowan, of the MSP Field Services Bureau nearby. A number of our troopers and Department of Natural Resources conservation officers walked with marchers along the route, talking with those near them.”

Former Detroit Lions football player Joique Bell was among the organizers and presenters at the march, with U.S. Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Detroit City Councilman James Tate among other notable participants. Dilg said it was an honor to have a role in the event.

“I give full credit to the people of Detroit and the metropolitan area for their focus on a peaceful protest,” Dilg said.