Faulkner was convicted and sentenced to prison for life. Several years later, the two girls who testified against him recanted their story, and Faulkner was pardoned. He returned to Detroit, where some white businessmen helped him start a produce business. The city held an inquiry on the death of Boyd, but no one was prosecuted for his death. Although the Michigan Legislature encouraged compensation for the victims of the riot, the Detroit City Council, dominated by Democrats, refused to do so. These tax-paying citizens, who had not been protected and whose property had been stolen and destroyed, were left to recover and remake their lives on their own. As a result of the riot, the city established a full-time police force. It was dominated by ethnic whites into the late 20th century. This became a civil rights issue, as the city's minority population had been closed out of the force.