DETROIT (WWJ) -- A two-year investigation into corruption within the Detroit Police Department has concluded with 12 officers leaving the department and Chief James White saying he’s confident they have “rooted out the problem.”
The focus of the investigation, dubbed “Operation Clean Sweep,” was the DPD’s Narcotics and Major Violations units.
The investigation uncovered “numerous incidents of misconduct” in the areas of overtime fraud, forgery, false affidavits and perjury, according to Chris Graveline, director of the Detroit Police Professional Standards Section.
Graveline says eight members of the department retired in the wake of the investigation, while four other officers resigned.
White thanked his predecessor, former police chief James Craig, for his vision to launch the internal investigation back in 2019 in order to “root out what has been reoccurring issues within the Narcotics and Major Violations.”
“Wearing a badge, it’s not a right, it’s a privilege,” White said during a press conference Tuesday. “And to engage in the privilege of wearing this badge, you must conduct yourself with the utmost respect, character and certainly understanding that if we erode our reputation with this community, it’ll be almost impossible to get it back.”
Officials said one sergeant is estimated to have racked up $16,000 worth of fraud through court appearances between 2016 and 2018, while overtime fraud totaled between $10,000-$12,000.
White noted it was a “direct and distinct group of individual officers” who were committing misconduct, while he emphasized “that not all DPD members assigned to the Major Violators unit over the past 10 years were engaged in this misconduct.”
“In fact, the opposite is true,” he said.
Other partners in the internal probe included the FBI, Michigan State Police, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
As a result of Operation Clean Sweep, the department will forward nine warrants to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office recommending charges against officers. Those cases are still under review.
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Tuesday’s press conference not only addressed Operation Clean Sweep, but another area of the department White called “rife with misconduct and corruption” -- bribery within the city’s municipal towing system that have led to multiple charges against police officers and Detroit City Council members.
White says the department will be seeking a software solution, including a customer-facing towing app to “remove the human element from awarding contracts.”
The new app will allow citizens to download the app and if they’re requesting a tow they will know on the front-end who is coming and how much it will cost so there’s no intervention by anyone.