Republican lawmakers and conservative groups slammed the Detroit chief of police this week after department leadership disciplined officers who broke city policy when they detained someone downtown last week and contacted Border Patrol.
The coordination between Detroit police officers and Customs and Border Patrol leading to a potential deportation was observed by a Detroit Free Press reporter near Grand Circus Park downtown on Friday.
Detroit’s “Welcoming City” policies prevent police officers from asking about immigration status during traffic stops or assisting federal officers without a detainer warrant. DPD does honor judge-signed detainer requests by ICE, giving agents the power to capture people being held at the Detroit Detention Center.
“The reality is, what we saw that took place was at conflict with what the chief has said is the departmental policy,” council president James Tate said at the latest Detroit City Council session.
Detroit police chief Todd Bettison said at the latest police commissioners meeting the department plans to terminate the officers who contacted border patrol, in defense of Detroit’s policies aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants. Bettison said two officers were suspended after traffic stops last week and in December.
His comments have been slammed by conservative pundits and politicians.
“I think Detroit needs a new Chief,” Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt said on social media in response to Bettison’s comments.
Conservatives across Michigan criticized Bettison for saying the officers would be terminated in defense of the Democratic city’s immigration policies
“It’s unbelievable that police officers could be fired for helping to apprehend criminals,” said Gabe Butzke, a spokesperson for Michigan Forward Network. “More than ever, public officials in Michigan need to support law enforcement. Instead, Mary Sheffield and Todd Bettison want to run them out of town.”
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield doubled down on the policy preventing local law enforcement from collaborating with federal units.
“This administration will reenforce the longstanding policy that the Detroit Police Department does not, in any way, engage in federal immigration enforcement,” Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a statement. “We will do our part, as a city, to make sure that members of our community, regardless of their immigration status, know their rights and feel safe in Detroit.”
Charles Fitzgerald, first assistant chief, spoke at council Tuesday, saying Detroit police aren’t in the immigration business.
“We never have been, we never will be,” Fitzgerald said.
He said twice in the past two weeks Detroit police officers have contacted a unit under the office of homeland security for “language issues.”
“It’s unacceptable, we do not tolerate it,” Fitzgerald said, adding that once the investigation is complete, the matter will go on to disciplinary command hearing to determine the penalty.
The investigations should be complete in 21 days, he said.
When asked what’s being done to ensure officers understand the city policies surrounding immigration enforcement, Fitzgerald said that officers were recently required to scan a QR code ensuring they understand the ordinance.
He also said the department had an all command meeting last week that included all captains and above.
“We don’t want there to be confusion where it’s ‘I can’t call ICE but I can call border patrol,'” Fitzgerald said. “We don’t call anyone… We’re doing what we need to do, we’re not doing immigration.”
District 6 council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who represents the city’s largest population of undocumented residents in Southwest Detroit, said what Detroit police officers did last week coordinating with federal immigration agents is a concern her community members have already been raising.
Santiago-Romero mentioned a proposed hotline that residents could call if they observe DPD officers working with federal agents for the purpose of immigration enforcement. However, Fitzgerald said there were currently no plans to establish one.
“It’s a very big police force now, we have a lot of new people, I think that we need these opportunities to be able to do more accountability,” Santiago-Romero said. “The hotline needs to be established as quickly as possible.”
Santiago-Romero pointed to a hotline attorney general Dana Nessel set up for residents to monitor federal agents, saying the city should deploy something similar.
McCampbell pointed out the fact that both incidents were brought to public attention after the release of body cam footage and because a Free Press reporter who happened to be at the scene. He asked the police leader whether other incidents could be happening unreported.
“We are doing everything in our power to truly go back and audit,” Fitzgerald said.
