Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison has reversed course on his vow to fire two officers who allegedly coordinated with federal Border Patrol agents against department policy, Bettison said in a statement on Friday, Feb. 20.
Citing a Thursday decision by the Detroit police oversight board to suspend the officers without pay, Bettison said, “I am satisfied with the Board’s decision, and I will not be pursuing termination of these two officers.”
A Detroit police spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
The about-face comes after one of the suspended officers — a 27-year department veteran and sergeant suspended for coordinating with Border Patrol agents in downtown Detroit on Feb. 9 — sued the city to block further discipline, including termination.
In her lawsuit, Sgt. Denise Wallet argued that department policies restricting contact with federal immigration authorities violate Section 1373 of Title 8 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits state or local governments from limiting communication with federal immigration officials.
The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement also weighed in on the situation Thursday, on X, formerly Twitter.
“We have a place for you, patriots,” ICE posted over a news story noting the department’s intention to fire the sergeant and another officer. “http://JOIN.ICE.GOV.”
DHS later posted: “It’s absurd that two Detroit police officers would face punishment for alerting CBP about a criminal illegal alien — they are American heroes who chose public safety first.”
Bettison revealed the alleged instances of coordination at last week’s meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners, where he requested the board vote to withhold pay from the officers during their suspensions and said he intended to eventually fire the officers.
In the Feb. 9 instance of coordination, a sergeant called Border Patrol after an officer requested translation services during a traffic stop of a person who did not speak English, Bettison said. Border Patrol responded, “conducted their investigation,” “determined that the individual was not a U.S. citizen,” and “as a result” took the person, Bettison said.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:15 p.m., Bettison said. Around 4 p.m. the same day, the Free Press saw Detroit police and Border Patrol agents downtown at Woodward Avenue and Witherell Street.
When a Free Press reporter approached and asked what was going on, a Detroit police officer declined to comment before getting in her vehicle, and the Border Patrol agents got in their vehicle and drove off. The department did not respond to subsequent Free Press requests for more information before eventually revealing the same incident Bettison announced days later was the one the paper saw.
Wallet, for her part, refutes Bettison’s version of events. The suit filed on her behalf in federal court Thursday says she responded to an officer’s request for a supervisor at a traffic stop involving a person who allegedly presented a fraudulent electronic Michigan driver’s license and could not be identified. After unsuccessfully attempting to identify the individual using a department-issued fingerprint scanner, she contacted Border Patrol at her lieutenant’s direction solely to verify the identity of the individual in custody, the suit says. Wallet did not inquire about the person’s immigration status, did not attempt to enforce federal immigration law and did not contact Border Patrol for translation purposes, the suit says.
The lawsuit also states that during the traffic stop, Wallet made a verbal comment expressing disagreement with department policy regarding immigration and collaboration with federal authorities. She argues the statement was protected speech under the First Amendment.
The complaint states that Wallet’s contact with Border Patrol was solely for a legitimate law enforcement purpose and that her suspension or any further discipline would be unjustified.
In addition to Wallet, Bettison told the oversight board last week that another officer coordinated with federal immigration authorities on Dec. 16, 2025. The coordination was discovered during a body-worn camera audit. In that case, a police officer was “investigating an individual on a felony warrant at a location on the west side and ultimately … believing that the individual was not a U.S. citizen, decided to contact Border Patrol,” Bettison said. “Border Patrol did respond, and Border Patrol ultimately took this individual,” he said.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield approves of Bettison’s decision not to fire the officers, her spokesman said Friday.
“The Mayor, like the Chief, believes the (Board of Police Commissioners) understood the gravity of the officers violating a longstanding departmental policy and took appropriate action by voting unanimously to suspend them without pay for 30 days,” said mayoral spokesman John Roach. “The mayor respects the authority of the BOPC on matters of police discipline and also respects Chief Bettison’s position regarding the Board’s action last night.”
Violet Ikonomova is an investigative reporter at the Free Press focused on government and police accountability. Contact her at vikonomova@freepress.com.