Detroit, Michigan - Two police execs charged
Detroit News Online. 06/12/07. By Norman Sinclair
Prosecutor says one Detroit commander tampered with evidence after colleague crashed car.
A veteran Detroit police commander faces felony charges for allegedly trying to cover up evidence that a second commander might have been driving drunk when he wrecked an unmarked police car. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy on Monday charged Cmdr. John Autrey, 54, with misconduct in office, tampering with evidence and willful neglect of duty by a public officer in connection with the early-morning April 28 accident involving Cmdr. Todd Bettison, 30. Both executives are assigned to the Northeast District and are suspended with pay.
Neither officer could be reached for comment Monday. Bettison was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor and possession of a firearm while under the influence of liquor. He was off-duty and alone driving a department-issued car when he crashed into a utility pole on Hayes at Seymour. Bettison was injured and was taken to St. John Hospital. The prosecutor said Autrey visited Bettison in the hospital later that morning before going to the crash scene where he was observed picking up small wine bottles from around and inside the wrecked car and disposing of them.
"I have to ask myself would Cmdr. Autry have sat still if someone under his command had engaged in this type of behavior? I think not," Worthy said. "The day we knowingly allow a police official to tamper with evidence is the day we have compromised the integrity of the entire criminal justice system." Misconduct in office is a felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Tampering with evidence is also a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Willful neglect of duty by a public officer is a misdemeanor that carries one year in jail. The charges against Bettison are misdemeanors with penalties of 93 days in jail.
Bettison came under public scrutiny in 2005 when state elections officials said a Political Action Committee (PAC) he organized donated more than $25,000 to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's re-election campaign in violation of election rules. The contribution should have been $3,400 and the Kilpatrick re-election committee was ordered to return the excess money.
Both officers are expected to be arraigned on the charges Tuesday in 36th District Court in Detroit.
You can reach Norman Sinclair at (313) 222-2034 or nsinclair@detnews.com.
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