DETROIT – On Thursday, leaders within the Detroit Police Department informed the Police Board of Commissioners about one of their own.
Local 4 learned an off-duty officer was recently arrested.
Police Chief James White immediately suspended the officer but is now recommending him to be suspended without pay.
He’s a patrolman and has been part of the force for about two years, working in the Second District. Detroit police said the officer was a passenger inside of a stolen car near the intersection of Fullerton Avenue and Washburn Street.
“They had to be doing at least 80 mph,” said Alfred Widmon, adding that his car was hit in the incident.
A photo of the stolen car from the scene is going viral and viewed thousands of times.
Detroit Police Assistant Chief David LeValley said when his officers approached the car, they found an individual in the back yard. That man was the off-duty officer. That’s when they handcuffed him.
“Charged him with resisting, obstructing. Furthering the investigation, we did discover that the vehicle that the off-duty officer fled from was a stolen vehicle. It had been stolen several months prior in the state of Ohio,” LeValley said. “It’s horribly disappointing. Wearing the badge of a Detroit police officer is an honor, a privilege. It’s not a right. If all of the allegations are true, it’s really a slap in the face to approximately the 2,500 people who wear the badge today.”
More: Detroit crime news