Detroit police chief plans to fire officers who called Border Patrol at traffic stops

Max Bryan, The Detroit News on Feb 16, 2026

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DETROIT — Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said he plans to fire two officers who in recent months called Customs and Border Patrol at traffic stops, leading to detentions.

At a Board of Police Commissioners' meeting on Thursday, Bettison said he had suspended with pay an officer and a sergeant who called CBP at the two traffic stops. He requested the commission allow him to suspend the two officers without pay. They had not been identified as of Monday.

After describing the two stops to the commission, Bettison said he intends "to terminate" the officers.

“98, 99% (of our officers) do it the right way each and every day. They’re out there working hard. But I do have one, two percent that decide to violate our rules, our policies and our procedures. And to those officers, I will hold them accountable," Bettison said.

Jackson Vidaurri, a spokesman for the Detroit Police Department, said Monday that nothing had changed since Bettison met with the police commission on Thursday.

"The mayor supports the DPD policy that officers are not to engage ICE or CBP for translation services," said John Roach, spokesperson for Mayor Mary Sheffield, in a statement. "When the policy is violated, the Chief and the Board of police Commissioners are responsible for determining the appropriate level of discipline and Mayor Sheffield fully respects that process.

"With that said and as previously stated, this administration will reenforce the longstanding policy that the Detroit Police Department does not, in any way, engage in federal immigration enforcement. 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," Roach said.

City Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero requested during a Monday committee meeting that a DPD representative be present at the regular council session Tuesday to update council members on the officers' employment statuses.

Bettison made his remarks as officials and members of the public questioned DPD's practices regarding immigration enforcement.

Santiago-Romero, who represents a large immigrant population in southwest Detroit, in January requested clarity from the city on how often and in what manner Detroit police interact with immigration officers.

At the commissioners' meeting, Bettison said it's "against policy" for his officers to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

What happened at the stops

The first stop Bettison detailed to the commission was Dec. 16 on Detroit's west side. It was discovered through a routine body camera audit, he said.

The police chief said the officer at the traffic stop was investigating a person for a felony warrant.

"Ultimately, this police officer, believing this individual was not a U.S. citizen, decided to contact Border Patrol," who took the suspect away, Bettison said.

The second stop was the afternoon of Feb. 9. An officer called the sergeant to the traffic stop because the person in question didn't speak English.

"The sergeant made the decision to contact Border Patrol, which is a violation of our department policy," said Bettison. "Border Patrol did arrive, Border Patrol conducted their investigation, Border Patrol determined that the individual was not a U.S. citizen, and as a result, the individual was taken."

More transparency sought

The news about the two officers comes as the City Council plans to make a legal opinion on DPD's relationship with immigration officers public, a move one councilmember says is timely.

On Jan. 8, Santiago-Romero sent a memo to the Law Department seeking to learn how officials could "ban or limit" ICE activity in Detroit. The councilwoman also sent a memo to Bettison asking for information about each time DPD reached out to immigration agents for assistance.

Representatives from the legal department said Monday that the council could vote to make the legal opinion public at its regular meeting Tuesday. Santiago-Romero said council members would work to make it public then.

District 7 Councilman Denzel McCampbell said it was important to release the legal opinion after the suspensions of the two officers.

"That brings up a higher need for people to know what the policies are," McCampbell said.

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