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DETROIT (WJBK) - An internal investigation has been launched at the Detroit Police Department after two different precincts got into a turf war as they converged on an east side neighborhood.

Neighbors who live on Andover on Detroit's east side will be the first to tell you this area is known for constant drug activity.

"Definitely a drug problem in our neighbor for years," said one resident, " but I don't think anyone can stop it."

On Thursday Detroit police certainly tried -- but maybe too hard.

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, and then arrest potential buyers and seize 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.

FOX 2 is told the rest of the special ops team from the 12th Precinct showed up, and officers began raiding a house in the 19300 block of Andover. But instead of fighting crime, officers from both precincts began fighting with each other.

Sources say guns were drawn and punches were thrown while the homeowner stood and watched.

The department's top cops were notified along with Internal Affairs. Each officer involved is now under investigation as the department tried to determine what went wrong.

"You've gotta have to have more communication, I guess," said the resident. "I don't understand what happened about that - communicate."

FOX 2 is told one of the units had body camera video that detailed the entire incident. That is now part of the internal investigation and we are working to get our hands on it.

We're told top brass doesn't plan to comment on this until next week.
http://amp.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/detroit-police-officers-fight-each-other-in-undercover-op-gone-wrong

To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. With all of the overlap of law enforcement agencies from city to state to federal levels, you'd expect this sort of thing to happen every now and then where one agency's undercover seller and another agency's undercover buyer intersect and try to bust each other.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. With all of the overlap of law enforcement agencies from city to state to federal levels, you'd expect this sort of thing to happen every now and then where one agency's undercover seller and another agency's undercover buyer intersect and try to bust each other.

Not only this, but I am surprised we do not see more Blue-on-Blue shooting incidents.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. With all of the overlap of law enforcement agencies from city to state to federal levels, you'd expect this sort of thing to happen every now and then where one agency's undercover seller and another agency's undercover buyer intersect and try to bust each other.

Funny thought is, what if the reported problem of drug pushers and buyers in that area are because of the undercover cops themselves?

It's pretty much standard fare for all cop shows that at least once a season this sort of nonsense happens

(usually it's some sort of national agency vs local cops not two local cops groups though)

so maybe make them watch more tv, they usually manage with loads of shouting and no actual brawling

So wait, was the second "resident" they interviewed the person living in the house they raided. Holy craps that is embarrassing.

We had some issues in my town several years back between the county and city police. Both were located out of the local jail. The fued got so bad the county cops kicked the city cops out and they had to get their own HQ across town. I haven't seen any County Mounties in town for a long long time.....

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
It's pretty much standard fare for all cop shows that at least once a season this sort of nonsense happens

(usually it's some sort of national agency vs local cops not two local cops groups though)

And the national agency is framed as the bad guys because they are somehow preventing justice. Usually because it would hurt their investigation which, if you look at it objectibely, its more important that what local cops are doing.

I still found the Seneca Marshals arresting the DEA agents for breaking and entering, and vandalism, hilarious.


Just remember folks, you always need to be sure your warrant is good.

I strongly oppose entrapment tactics, so this looks like a fun time for me.

Just another day in Detoliet. Nothing new here, folks.

 oldravenman3025 wrote:



Just another day in Detoliet. Nothing new here, folks.

Eh, Detroit, Necromunda, it's all the same to me.

 BaronIveagh wrote:

 oldravenman3025 wrote:



Just another day in Detoliet. Nothing new here, folks.

Eh, Detroit, Necromunda, it's all the same to me.

Very true.


The one good thing about Detroit, it's a great place to LARP Fallout if that's your thing.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
I strongly oppose entrapment tactics, so this looks like a fun time for me.

Offering willing buyers illegal contraband is not entrapment. Obviously the locals don't appreciate the drug houses so it seems like some decent proactive law enforcement. in theory, anyway.

Just sloppy work. UC ops should be conducting surveillance on the area and coordinating with other agencies. Here, they were in the same precinct for crying out loud. Not like it was state LEOs bumping against a federal op or something.

 jmurph wrote:


Offering willing buyers illegal contraband is not entrapment. Obviously the locals don't appreciate the drug houses so it seems like some decent proactive law enforcement. in theory, anyway.

To clarify entrapment as a legal concept is when law enforcement (or possibly the court) tricks someone into committing a crime. For example if I, officer Hats, offer to sell you a bag of sugar for 99 cents and arrest you for cocaine possession after you buy the "sugar" that is entrapment. If I, officer Hats, offer to sell you a bag of cocaine for 99 cents and arrest you for cocaine possession after you buy the cocaine that is not entrapment. Lying about being a police officer does not constitute tricking someone into committing a crime. Holding a proverbial gun to their head and declaring "you will break the law or I will charge you with breaking some other law" (as happened in 1959's Raley v Ohio) is a no no. Holding out a bag of crack and asking if someone wants to buy it is not.

That said, over time I've come to increasingly question a lot of undercover police type things morally and ethically. But entrapment is a rather specific thing and doesn't cover just any kind of trick or lie.

Indeed. If that constituted entrapment, then alcohol or tobacco stings where they try to get a store to sell to an underage person would be entrapment. And they're definitely not entrapment.

Nonsense like this inter-precinct police brawl would happen a lot less if we accepted reality and legalized drugs already. The costs of the War on Drugs are a lot higher than the costs of treating addiction.

I also think we should end the war on drugs but that is a discussion of much larger scope. As for this incident, just try to make sense of a map of police jurisdictions and you'll be just as confused as these officers were!

Happens often, and in many cases it's even worse than listed in that article (i.e. actual wrong-doing on behalf of organizations etc.).

The war on drugs is a legitimate undertaking, but the problem is the aim and concentration of effort is poor. Having personal experience on the front line in the fight against cartels, there is plenty of threat there - but that threat doesn't come from weed. That's a cheap and easy cash-crop they can sling with abandon across the border. Weed should be legalized nationwide. The issue then becomes the "business" nature of US prisons (and entirely different subject).

Legalize weed, and continue punishing the more genuinely serious narcotics. That'd be the ideal solution. The war on drugs wasn't started because of weed, but the cartels are such large enterprises that they run it all anyway.