The Detroit News
Jakkar Aimery
Published May 22, 2024
The Detroit police commissioners will weigh next week whether to withhold the pay of a Detroit police lieutenant who was suspended this week following remarks he made to protesters Sunday during President Joe Biden’s visit.
The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners was asked by Chief James White to authorize the suspension without pay of Lt. Brandon Cole during a meeting of the board Thursday afternoon. White on Monday announced that Cole was placed on administrative leave after a verbal tussle between him and a protester outside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit during Biden’s visit.
White said Wednesday new findings led him to suspend Cole from duty. The chief said the suspension and request to withhold the pay were spurred by “additional facts that have surfaced” following the weekend incident.
“The chief was prompt and deliberate, and I have confidence in the investigation,” said Commissioner Darryl Woods Sr. “What will be presented before us will be voted on in a constitutional manner that protects the rights of all.”
Woods said the issue of Cole’s suspension without pay was not on Thursday’s agenda, and that the opportunity for due process will occur May 30 in a closed session.
ole came under scrutiny when a viral 19-second TikTok video showed him standing with four officers during a protest outside Huntington Place during the NAACP Detroit Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner featuring Biden as the keynote speaker. Scoring more than 9 million views, Cole in the footage is seen asking a woman who was protesting against the United States sending military aid to Israel: “Why don’t you just go back to Mexico?” The woman, Lexis Zeidan of Dearborn, replies in the video that she’s of Palestinian descent, not Mexican.
Department officials during a Monday news conference at Public Safety Headquarters showed the TikTok clip and longer footage from an officer’s body-worn camera. Supplementary footage provided more context of remarks made by Cole and demonstrators, but still raised concerns, White has said.
The interaction spiraled into a verbal tussle that appeared to be motivated by ethnic or nationality bigotry. But police said, “the protester that the lieutenant was engaging was recently out of town, on vacation in Mexico, and the lieutenant was aware of that, and his comment was related to her returning to vacation,” said Cmdr. Michael McGinnis during the news conference.
The added context, McGinnis said, “changes the egregiousness of the interaction.” Still, the department would evaluate the situation for policy violations, he said.
“… It’s evident from the video that there is some sort of knowledge both ways between the officer and the protester, and the other way as well,” McGinnis said. “So, that’s going to be part of our investigation that we’re going to determine exactly who knew what, when and how.”
The lieutenant earlier this week was placed on administrative duty amid the internal investigation into the exchange.
On Wednesday, with the new findings, White said his concerns “worsened.”
“Today, I was briefed on additional facts that have surfaced, including, but not limited to information that the personal statements toward Lieutenant Cole were not made by the protester in question, but by another individual in close proximity, who has yet to be identified,” the chief said. “… My concerns over the events of May 19 have worsened.” White did not release details of the department’s findings.
“Despite the hard work of the officers at the event, the recent protest was one of the larger ones we have had to deal with over the past couple years, which has revealed deficiencies in the operations of the unit,” White said. “For this reason, the department will be examining the unit’s leadership practices, ensuring that officers continue to adhere to this department’s policies and training. If warranted, appropriate changes will be made.
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“News-Links:
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2024/05/22/detroit-police-lieutenant-suspended-after-probe-into-argument-with-protester-during-biden-visit/73810677007/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/detroit-lieutenant-suspended-after-telling-protester-to-go-back-to-mexico/ar-BB1mSQGR?ocid=BingNewsSerp
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/detroit-police-lieutenant-suspended-for-statements-made-during-protest/
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