DETROIT (WWJ) - A boater facing charges after a drunken scene at riverside Wyandotte restaurant is a retiree of the Detroit Police Department.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig confirmed the new information a day after Wyandotte police released information about the incident that led to the arrest of 65-year-old Kenneth Orrin Cook of Detroit on the Detroit River last Sunday.
"I heard about that," Craig told WWJ's Jon Hewett and other reporters Friday. "And you know it's unfortunate anytime a current member or a former member engages in criminal misconduct. It certainly does stain our badge."
"I mean, when you leave here as a retiree, you are still representing this department," he added. "This is not the first time something like that has happened."
According to Wyandotte police, Cook and his entourage of "six bikini-clad women, all half his age" pulled up to Waterfront Wyandotte, early Sunday evening, and tried to get a table. They reportedly became upset when told they'd have to wait for a table and appeared to be intoxicated. Eventually denied service and asked to leave, the rowdy group hurled "colorful insults" and threats at customers and staff before "cranking the boat radio up to intentionally annoy everyone," police said.
When officers arrived, Cook allegedly ignored commands to get off the boat and instead took off on the Detroit River, waiving his middle finger in the air.
He was chased down by the Wayne County Marine Division and taken into custody near the Ambassador Bridge.
Craig, who never worked with Cook, noted that retirees are not governed by DPD policies.
Bond was set at $10,000, and Cook is expected to appear in court for a probable cause conference next week.
