Detroit City Council members approved an ordinance to extend a curfew for minors during the 2026 Ford Fireworks.
The curfew — which city officials said is an annual request — would run from 8 p.m. on Monday, June 22, when the fireworks display is slated to take place, to 6 a.m. Tuesday, June 23.
Speakers during public comment at a committee hearing on June 15 said young people shouldn’t be excluded – a concern echoed by some council members the following day when the matter came before the body for a vote. District 7 Council Member Denzel Anton McCampbell and At-Large Council Member Mary Waters opposed the ordinance. Other council members voiced their support for the curfew because they said it protects residents.
The curfew applies to the area bound by the Detroit River, Third Street, the Lodge Freeway (M-10), the Fisher Freeway (Interstate 75), the extension of I-75 east of Gratiot Avenue, Gratiot Avenue, Vernor Highway, Chene Street, Atwater Street and the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater.
The city’s curfew is from 10 p.m. through 6 a.m. for minors 15 years old and younger, and from 11 p.m. through 6 a.m. for teens 16 and 17 years old.
The Detroit Police Department’s First Assistant Chief Franklin Hayes told council members on June 16 that the emergency ordinance is meant to be a tool of deterrence and that DPD would not be walking around profiling youth.
Last year, 156 juveniles were cited for violating the curfew in addition to 126 parents, according to Detroit police. Two people were the victims of gun violence in the viewing area. In 2024, 18 juveniles were cited, 18 parental responsibility tickets were issued and two young people were found to be illegally carrying a firearm.
Free Press staff writer Dana Afana contributed to this report.
