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Chief Todd Bettison at Monday's press conference (Screenshot from WXYZ video)
In an initial press conference on Sunday, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison defended an officer’s shooting of a female motorist that afternoon following a confrontation that began with a traffic stop and ended with her being shot six times and wounded.
But on Monday, in a follow-up press conference, he changed his tone, saying forcefully that the officer violated multiple department policies that likely led to the shooting. "The officer will be held accountable," he said.
He said that after reviewing the officer’s body camera footage, he was recommending that the Board of Police Commissioners suspend the officer immediately without pay pending an investigation by the Michigan State Police. He also said as a matter of routine in these cases, a warrant request has been submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
Bettison said the officer’s violations included:
►Shooting at a moving vehicle, which is prohibited except in extreme circumstances.
►Chasing a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation. It's only supposed to happen in more serious cases.
►Failing to de-escalate the incident by refusing to call a supervisor as the woman had requested.
“There could be criminal charges,” Bettison said. “But I’m telling you that there were definitely procedural violations, and I’m holding the officer accountable.”
He said the officer has been on the force for less than two years.
Bettison said Monday that the woman was driving a black Dodge Durango when she was pulled over around 3 p.m. for speeding, tinted windows, and an obscured license plate near 8 Mile and Van Dyke.
On Sunday, Bettison said she refused to produce a license, registration, and proof of insurance, and emphasized how important it was that motorists cooperate and produce those documents. On Monday, he clarified that she did provide those documents.
Bettison said the woman contested the reason for being pulled over and demanded that a supervisor be called to the scene. She also called 911. Bettison said a supervisor was never called.
“If a supervisor had been called, I don’t think it would have gone this way,” Bettison said.
When a backup unit arrived, officers tried but failed to get her out of the car. One of the backup officers pepper-sprayed the woman, but she managed to close the door and drive off.
About a minute later, near Outer Drive and Concord, her car was boxed in by two police vehicles. The officer who made the initial stop ordered her out of the car, but she tried to maneuver around them and drive off. That’s when the officer fired into her car, Bettison said.
The woman was treated at the hospital and then taken to the Detroit Detention Center on Mound Road on the city’s east side.
But Bettison said he demanded that she be released and stated she will not face charges.
Bettison emphasized that Detroit has some of the best police policies in the country, but added that when individuals fail to follow them, there are consequences.
