Roman Stanley Gribbs (December 29, 1925 – April 5, 2016) was an American attorney and politician who served as the mayor of Detroit from 1970 to 1974.
[4] In 1969, he was elected mayor of Detroit,[3] defeating opponent Richard H. Austin who later became Michigan Secretary of State.
In 1969, Gribbs created the Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets (STRESS), a secret and elite police unit.
STRESS used a tactic called "decoy operation," where a police officer tried to entrap potential criminals in an undercover sting.
In 1973, Gribbs declined to seek re-election[6] and was replaced by Coleman Young who was elected Detroit's first African-American mayor in November of that year.
[6][8] Gribbs was married to Katherine Stratis (1932–2011) from 1954 to 1982, and together they had four daughters (Paula, Carla, Rebecca, Elizabeth) and one son (Christopher).