Detroit police officers from two different precincts reportedly fought during a drug raid last week, throwing punches and even drawing guns on each other. The incident is under investigation.
Sources say it started when two special ops officers from the 12th Precinct were operating a "push off" on Andover near Seven Mile. That is when two undercover officers pretend to be dope dealers, waiting for eager customers to approach, arresting potential buyers and seizing their vehicles.
But this time instead of customers - special ops officers from the 11th Precinct showed up. Not realizing they were fellow officers, they ordered the other undercover officers to the ground at gunpoint.
FOX 2 reports the rest of the special ops team from the 12th Precinct showed up, and officers began raiding the drug house in the 19300 block of Andover. But instead of fighting crime, officers from both precincts began fighting with each other.
“This is probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen in this department since I’ve been appointed as chief,” Chief James Craig said during a news conference this afternoon at police headquarters.
Two officers are being placed on restrictive duty and a supervisor being reassigned from special operations pending the outcome of the investigation, which is expected to be turned over to prosecutors to determine if charges will be filed, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Craig said officers could have been shot during the incident and said there is video of what unfolded, which has not been released. It happened in the 11th Precinct’s jurisdiction, near the border with the 12th Precinct’s jurisdiction.
Craig said there was a lack of communication. Management from the 12th Precinct should have reached out to the 11th Precinct, giving them a heads up but that didn’t happen.
