Detroit police chief seeks to fire officers who called Border Patrol against department policy
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 26: A U.S. Border Patrol patch is seen on the sleeve of an agent at MCAS Miramar on September 26, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC) is expected to decide Thursday on the chief's request to suspend two officers without pay for contacting Border Patrol.
Chief Todd Bettison suspended the officers with pay after determining that they violated department policy by contacting the immigration enforcement agency. The board must vote on an unpaid suspension.
Bettison said last week that he is also seeking to terminate the officers.
What happened:
According to Bettison, one of the incidents, which happened in December 2025, was discovered while reviewing body-worn camera footage, a practice in the department.
The chief said that an officer who was investigating a person on a felony warrant called Border Patrol because the officer believed the person was undocumented. Border Patrol responded and detained the person.
The other incident happened on Feb. 9. During this case, Bettison said an officer performing a traffic stop contacted a sergeant because the person pulled over did not speak English. The sergeant arrived and contacted Border Patrol for translation services, a violation of deportment policies, Bettison said. Border Patrol agents determined the person was not a United States citizen and detained them.
"Contacting Border Patrol, ICE, or other federal agencies for translation services is strictly prohibited, as it invariably subjects individuals to extreme scrutiny, unrelated to any offense," Bettison said while speaking to the BOPC last week. "PD holds contracts with certified translation services that can be contacted 24 hours per day, seven days per week. There is absolutely no reason to contact federal law enforcement agencies to assist with translation services."
He said he would be looking into how frequently officers are utilizing the language translation service that the department pays for.
Bettison stressed during the board meeting that Detroit police officers do not do immigration enforcement. He said that even if a person had an immigration hold that appeared in DPD's system during a traffic stop, that person would not be detained solely because of the hold.
"It would have to be an offense where they violated one of our local ordinances or state law. That's the only thing that the Detroit Police Department and our officers are authorized to enforce," he said.
Bettison said he has reiterated the department policy with leadership, and has instructed them to communicate it to subordinates.
What they're saying:
News about the officers' calls to Border Patrol drew ire from officials, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), who supports firing the police who did so.
"Chief Bettison and I agree that we need to make sure that our community and our residents trust the people who are trying to keep us safe," Tlaib said.
Detroit police chief plans to fire officers who contacted Border Patrol
The two officers are currently suspended while Chief Todd Bettison requested their firings from the board of police commissioners for review.
What's next:
The BOPC is set to vote on the unpaid suspensions during its meeting on Thursday afternoon.