Original footage was filmed by WXYZ TV-7, and ABC affiliate in Detroit, Michigan. The footage was donated to the Michigan State Police for training purposes. The State Police have since donated it to the Archives of Michigan for permanent preservation.

The footage is online because the Archives of Michigan is using it for educational purposes in the David and Betty Morris Archives of Michigan Learning Center. The Governor's Decision Room (modeled after and in consultation with the White House Decision Center at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library) will feature the 1967 Detroit Riot as the first decision students will face.