Detroit residents express frustration over controversial officer back on the job
A police lieutenant who told activists to go back to Mexico is back on the job, and Detroit residents are frustrated.
The incident happened during a pro-Palestinian protest in May 2024.
The Detroit Police Department suspended Lieutenant Cole. He was reinstated in late November.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - During Thursday's Detroit Police Commissioners board meeting, several people expressed their frustration, via Zoom, about Police Lieutenant Brandon Cole being back on the job.
The backstory
During a pro-Palestinian protest in May 2024, Cole was caught on video telling activist Lexis Zeidan, "Why don't you just go back to Mexico?"
The video went viral.
Zeidan is not Mexican, but concerns arose when the lieutenant revealed he knew she had recently visited Mexico by looking at her social media.
What they're saying
The Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability claims the verbal confrontation highlights a fear of police surveillance that is unknown to the public.
Eventually, the Detroit Police Department suspended Lieutenant Cole.
He was reinstated in late November.
Chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners, Darryl Woods, stated that the lieutenant followed the legal process.
"We have been assured that he wouldn't be in a position to be able to participate in some of the activities that he did before," Woods said. "I'm very, very comfortable that he would not have the opportunity to engage the community on a level he did before."
"What do you want to tell people to assure them that you have their best interests, and they can trust what the board does and what our police department does?" asked FOX 2's Brandon Hudson.
Woods responded, "We want citizens to know they always have a voice at our table—whether good, bad, or indifferent—to be able to speak up on these issues, and we ask that the community stay vigilant. And if they see any type of negative behavior happening, bring it to our attention and the chief's attention."
The Source
FOX 2 talked with the chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners, Darryl Woods and used information from previous stories.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
A Defiant Israel Eyes a Full Gaza Takeover Despite Global Isolation
As pictures of malnourished Gazans flood world media, pressure on Israel is intensifying not only to dramatically increase the supply of food and end the fighting but to accept a Palestinian state. More than 61,000 Gazans have been killed in nearly two years; Hamas isn't destroyed; hostages are still held: the Jewish state is turning into a global pariah. But as international condemnation intensifies — arms embargoes, arrest warrants, cultural boycotts — Israel is not merely defying the pressure, it is redefining itself. Once a besieged secular outpost with an agrarian economy, it has evolved into a Middle East superpower: an aggressive military and intelligence juggernaut with a GDP per capita higher than the UK, an increasingly populist ethno-religious government with an unflinching security ethos.
NBC News
a minute ago
- NBC News
Stanford student newspaper sues Trump officials over immigration law that's led to chilling of free speech
Stanford University's student newspaper on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over two provisions in federal immigration law that they say the officials have wielded against those with pro-Palestinian views. The Stanford Daily, in addition to two former college students, filed the lawsuit against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, accusing the administration of using the provisions to threaten deportation and the revocation of visas. They say it's led to censorship and violations of free speech rights. The paper's staff members who are on visas have self-censored and declined assignments related to the war in Gaza, fearful that their reporting could jeopardize their lawful immigration status, the lawsuit said. 'In the United States of America, no one should fear a midnight knock on the door for voicing the wrong opinion,' said Conor Fitzpatrick, attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a group that is helping to represent the plaintiffs, in a statement. 'Free speech isn't a privilege the government hands out. Under our Constitution it is the inalienable right of every man, woman, and child.' A senior State Department official declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, but directed NBC News to comments Rubio previously made about visa holders and complying with U.S. law. In April, Rubio wrote in an opinion piece published on Fox News that he would be taking a 'zero-tolerance approach to foreign nationals who abet terrorist organizations.' 'The Supreme Court has made clear for decades that visa holders or other aliens cannot use the First Amendment to shield otherwise impermissible actions taken to support designated foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hizballah, or the Houthis, or violate other U.S. laws,' Rubio said. Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, described the lawsuit as 'baseless.' 'There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,' McLaughlin said in a statement. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs take aim at the Deportation Provision and Revocation Provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The first provision allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens if the secretary 'personally determines that the alien's admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest.' The second gives the secretary the power to revoke a visa or documentation at their discretion. As the lawsuit points out, the Trump administration has cited the Deportation Provision as the basis for attempting to deport Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested and detained for more than three months. Similarly, the administration used the Revocation Provision to detain Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, who's also since been released. Due to the administration's use of the statutes, the lawsuit said, the Stanford Daily has received a number of requests from lawfully present noncitizens to have their names, quotes or photos removed from articles. Many international students have stopped speaking to the paper's journalists, and current and former writers have asked for their opinion editorials to be taken down, the lawsuit said. 'The First Amendment cements America's promise that the government may not subject a speaker to disfavored treatment because those in power do not like his or her message,' the lawsuit said. 'And when a federal statute collides with First Amendment rights, the Constitution prevails.' One of the unnamed plaintiffs appeared on the Canary Mission, the suit said. The website, run by an anonymous group, has published a detailed database of students, professors and others who it says have shared anti-Israel and antisemitic viewpoints. It's been accused of doxxing and harassment, in addition to launching personal attacks that depict pro-Palestinian activists as being in 'support of terrorism,' the Middle East Studies Association of North America said. The plaintiff has stopped publishing and 'voicing her true opinions' on Palestine and Israel, the suit said. Canary Mission previously told NBC News that it documents people and groups who 'promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews' across the political spectrum, but it did not respond to criticisms of its work. The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions that block the officials from using the provisions against them based on engaging in what they consider protected speech. 'There's real fear on campus and it reaches into the newsroom,' said Greta Reich, editor-in-chief of The Stanford Daily, in a statement. 'The Daily is losing the voices of a significant portion of our student population.'
Axios
30 minutes ago
- Axios
Trump doesn't oppose Netanyahu plan for full Gaza occupation: U.S. officials
President Trump does not oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to launch a new military operation to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, U.S. and Israeli officials say. Why it matters: The Israeli Security Cabinet is expected to approve on Thursday a highly controversial plan to expand the war. According to the sources, Trump has decided not to intervene and to let the Israeli government make its own decisions. The big picture: The new operation to occupy additional areas of central Gaza, including Gaza City, is expected to take at least several months and involve displacing around 1 million Palestinian civilians. The Israel Defense Forces would also be moving into areas where Israel believes hostages are being held, possibly risking their lives. Netanyahu is poised to escalate the war despite massive international pressure to stop the fighting and prioritize the humanitarian crisis in the enclave — and over the objections of his own top generals. What they're saying: Two U.S. officials tell Axios Trump won't intervene in the Israeli decision-making around the new operation. When asked on Tuesday about a possible Israeli full occupation of Gaza, Trump said: "I really can't say. It is going to be pretty much up to Israel." Netanyahu and his aides claim Hamas isn't interested in signing a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage deal on terms Israel can accept, and that only military pressure can change that. "We are not willing to remain in the current limbo and we are not willing to surrender to Hamas' demands — so essentially only one option is left, to take a drastic step. This is the last card we have left," a Netanyahu aide told Axios. Behind the scenes: One U.S. official said Trump was moved by the video released by Hamas of an Israeli hostage digging his own grave. "It influenced the president, and he is going to let the Israelis do what they need to do," the official said. At the same time, the U.S. official said the Trump administration doesn't support Israeli annexation of parts of Gaza — another possibility discussed by Israeli officials. Between the lines: The IDF has been reluctant to attack the areas in Gaza that the new plan focuses on for fear of accidentally killing hostages. According to Israeli officials, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir told Netanyahu such a move would endanger the hostages and could lead to Israeli military rule in Gaza with full responsibility over 2 million Palestinians. "You are walking into a trap," Zamir told Netanyahu in a meeting on Tuesday, according to multiple reports in the Israeli press. It appears that Netanyahu was unmoved. Split screen: The White House plans to focus in the coming weeks on addressing the starvation crisis in Gaza, though the expansion of the war would make that more difficult. In a meeting Monday evening at the White House, Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed plans for the U.S. to significantly increase its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. "The United States remains committed to helping alleviate the situation in Gaza and is supportive of efforts to increase humanitarian aid. However, the United States is not 'taking over' the aid effort," a U.S. official told Axios. What to watch: The Trump administration plans to increase its funding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in order to open new aid centers in parts of Gaza to which displaced Palestinians will be relocated, both in north and central Gaza, sources say.
