Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said Friday he will no longer seek to fire two cops who called U.S. Border Patrol during separate traffic stops, supporting instead a 30-day unpaid suspension imposed by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners.
The commission voted 10-0 Thursday to suspend Sgt. Denise Wallet and Officer James Corsi for violating longstanding department policy that bars Detroit officers from contacting federal immigration authorities in most circumstances. The officers will forfeit a month’s pay but retain benefits.
Bettison had previously said he intended to terminate the cops. But in a statement released Friday, he said he supports the board’s decision as “the ultimate discipline” and will not pursue their firing.
“The Board had the opportunity to review all the video and consider all the facts and circumstances in their decision,” Bettison said. “The role of the Board is to serve as an oversight body and a check and balance for the police department and I fully respect its role. Therefore, I am satisfied with the Board’s decision and I will not be pursuing termination of these two officers.”
Still, Bettison made clear he stands by the department’s immigration policy and criticized the officers’ conduct.
“Policies are meant to provide structure and limits for officers to protect them and citizens alike,” he said. “When policies are not followed, whether in this matter or DPD’s no-pursuit policy, it puts the community at risk.”
He said the incident should serve as notice that he will “continue to vigorously enforce DPD’s policies.”
The suspensions follow a nearly four-hour closed session Thursday, and commissioners didn’t publicly discuss their reasoning.
One of the cops, Wallet, recently filed a federal lawsuit over the discipline and said she was asked to assist after a motorist presented a fake driver’s license. When she could not confirm the driver’s identity using a fingerprint scanner, her lieutenant instructed her to call Border Patrol, the suit states. Agents arrived and detained the driver, who police said was in the country illegally.
Wallet, a 27-year department veteran, argued she did not violate policy and is seeking to block any further discipline.
Corsi, who joined the department in 2015, contacted Border Patrol during a traffic stop on Dec. 16 while investigating a person for a felony warrant, Bettison previously said. Federal agents detained the suspect.
The case has drawn praise and criticism as tensions continue to flare over immigration enforcement. Over the past year, immigration officers, many of them masked and unqualified, killed American citizens and undocumented immigrants, terrorized communities, and frequently violated the U.S. Constitution.