Latest news with #ToddBettison
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Detroit gentlemen's club shut down after minors found inside, police say
— Detroit police say a gentlemen's club on the city's west side was shut down after teens were allegedly found there over the weekend. Police say an investigation is underway at The Sting nightclub, where approximately 20 people under 21 were at the club for a birthday party on Saturday. Police say a woman tracked her child down at the location and contacted authorities. Police Chief Todd Bettison says the youngest person there was believed to be 14 years old. 'It was dancing going on here, and it was adult beverages being served as well,' Bettison said. 'I know you want to grow up fast, but this is dangerous. You know, a lot of kids can get lured into a life of human trafficking. It's a lot of things that happen in these adult clubs where children should not be exposed to.' On Wednesday, authorities placed a red sign on the door signaling that the club was closed. While executing a search warrant at the business, police seized DVRs. Police say no arrests have been made, but they are looking into the organizer of the birthday party. One father who lives nearby says the situation is baffling. 'What type of person that runs this business have kids. Makes me wonder about you,' said Darrel Wallace. 'I don't even deal with these type of clubs, so it's really degrading, especially to our community. We don't need stuff like that.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police officials applaud lawmakers as they progress public safety and violence prevention package
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison talks to lawmakers on the Michigan House Government Operations Committee about the need for public safety funding on April 17, 2025 | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols In 2024, Detroit saw the lowest number of homicides recorded in the city since 1965, a triumph Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told lawmakers Thursday was achieved in large-part by community violence intervention programs that he says would be able to continue doing effective work if legislators pass a proposed state Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund. Bettison and police chiefs from Dearborn, Taylor, Livonia and other municipalities came to the Michigan House Government Operations Committee to offer support for a $115 million Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund being considered by lawmakers with the goal of distributing funds to local law enforcement to curb violent crime. Community violence intervention, or CVI, programs such as ShotStoppers, Detroit Friends & Family and FORCE Detroit were able to reduce violent crime by up to 70% in some service areas between November 2023 and January 2024, a report from the city found. The three programs in the report engage trusted community members in Detroit neighbors to implement tailored approaches to reduce gun violence in the city. And though the fund will help to save lives in cities with higher crime rates like Detroit and Flint, Bettison said, many municipalities in Michigan will dramatically benefit from being able to form or strengthen their own CVI programs to curb violence. Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) went through a list off estimated distributions for communities the members on the committee represent: $176,000 for Owosso, $1.9 million for Flint, $261,000 for Waterford Township, $50,000 for Ludington, nearly $500,000 for Muskegon, $3.2 million for Grand Rapids and $1.1 million for Warren. In Dearborn, one of Michigan's most populous cities and neighbor to Detroit, City Police Chief Issa Shahin said in addition to investing in CVIs, his department plans on using funds to hire more staff and officers to respond faster to calls and engage more proactively with neighborhoods before crime can occur. 'This is more than just funding. It's a commitment to public safety and smart, targeted and responsive to needs on the ground. I'll just be honest, policing is expensive. Communities want well-staffed, well-trained and well-resourced departments and that costs money,' Shahin said. 'This investment allows us to do that on behalf of our officers, our city and our residents.' The Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, which was proposed for $75 million last legislative session with bipartisan support has since been increased to $115 million in order to dedicate $40 million to county sheriffs. The fund still has bipartisan support in the Republican-majority state House, but GOP leadership has raised concern that the Democratic-led state Senate won't take up the fund without trying to add other measures to it. The Government Operations Committee, which has three Republicans and two Democrats, passed the bills that create the fund, HB 4260 and 4261, out of committee unanimously Thursday, urging their colleagues in both chambers of the Legislature to work towards the common goal of safer communities. Funding public safety 'isn't about politics,' Harris said, 'it's about people.' 'It's about real families. It's about real neighborhoods, and it's about real law enforcement officers who need backup, and not just in the field, but here in Lansing from us.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
USA Today
11-02-2025
- USA Today
Two kids apparently freeze to death in Detroit parking garage after eviction
Two kids apparently freeze to death in Detroit parking garage after eviction Show Caption Hide Caption U.S. homelessness hits record high in 2024 Homelessness in the United States hit the highest level on record in 2024. Two children sleeping inside a van in a Detroit casino parking garage appear to have frozen to death after temperatures plummeted, according to city officials. "No parent, no family, no mother should ever have to endure such hardship and heartbreak," Deputy Mayor Melia Howard said Tuesday. "As Detroiters, I know that we will lift them up in our hearts." Police said a mother, her five kids and their grandmother had been living in the van since being evicted from their apartment last year. Investigators say the mother, whose name was not released, parked the van inside the Hollywood Casino parking garage about 1 a.m. Monday as temperatures fell well below freezing. The van at some point stopped running, and around noon on Monday the mother and a family friend noticed her nine-year-old son wasn't breathing, and took him to a hospital, police said. The grandmother then discovered her two-year-old granddaughter had also stopped breathing, police said. The causes of death hasn't yet been confirmed by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, but police said it appears the children froze to temperature in the area dropped as low as 11 degrees overnight Sunday into Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The three surviving children were hospitalized and are in stable condition, police said. Interim Police Chief Todd Bettison said police are investigating and will present the facts to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to decide if criminal charges are warranted. City officials said there had been beds available at a nearby emergency shelter, and were investigating why the family had not sought help there. Hollywood Casino declined to comment. Detroit officials said the city's homeless response team had been in contact with the family in November following their eviction, but neither the city nor the family followed up to secure shelter. "In the course of that conversation, there was no resolution reached on where they would go," Mayor Mike Duggan said during a Tuesday press conference. "For whatever reason, this wasn't deemed an emergency." About 700 unhoused people die from cold annually, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. And the National Coalition for the Homeless says cold is the leading cause of injury and death for unhoused people. Across the country, the number of people experiencing homelessness on one night last year set a record high, according to a U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development report to Congress. Roughly 23 out of every 10,000 people in the U.S. faced homelessness, likely because of a lack of affordable housing and rising inflation, among other reasons, HUD said. Nearly 150,000 children were unhoused on that single night – a 33% increase from 2023. The one night tally is likely an undercount of the homeless population. Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at asahouri@ or on X: @andreamsahouri.
USA Today
11-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Police: 2 kids apparently freeze to death in van
Police: 2 kids apparently freeze to death in van Good morning, I hope you are staying warm on this Tuesday. ☁️ Our forecast shows an expected high of 31 degrees and cloudy. And here's what you need to know regarding the winter storm coming tomorrow. 🎧 Prefer to listen to the news? Here are today's top stories. Like our work? Here's your opportunity to support local journalism and get unlimited digital access to all we have to offer. Two young children apparently froze to death while sleeping overnight in a van inside a parking structure at a Detroit casino, police report. The two kids along with their three siblings and mom were unhoused and living in a van. Around noon Monday, one of the children, a 9-year-old boy, was not breathing and his mom called a friend to take the child to the hospital. The friend later returned to the parking structure to take the 2-year-old-girl to the hospital after it was confirmed she was not breathing. Both children died. The children's cause of death has not been confirmed by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office. Here's more in this story. Also worth reading 📰 News: Mayor Mike Duggan wants Todd Bettison to be Detroit's new police chief. Bettison was named interim police chief in October. 🚗 Autos: A new Trump administration tariff on goods from China means automakers will pay more for certain parts. This is what it may do to the cost of cars. 🔵 Politics: In a court brief filed Friday, the House argued Speaker Matt Hall was not compelled to present the bills to the governor's desk. Reporter Arpan Lobo has more. Also, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to fund Michigan roads by raising additional revenue from large companies and devoting every dollar Michigan drivers pay at the pump to roads, laying out the much-anticipated plan Monday, writes Clara Hendrickson. 🍕 Food and dining: On Monday, Buddy's Pizza debuted round pizzas known as 'Rendezvous Rounds." This pays homage to original Buddy's Rendezvous Pizzeria on Six Mile and Conant in Detroit, where the Detroit-style pizza began in 1946. But, not every Buddy's is selling the Rounds. Here's where you can find them. Great, I guess I'll have pizza for lunch today. I hope I've made you hungry too. We appreciate you starting your morning with us. Here's your opportunity to support local journalism and get unlimited digital access to all we have to offer. Obituaries | Podcasts
