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DETROIT (AP) – Two police officers, including a lieutenant who worked in the Detroit Integrity Unit, accepted bribes to break the rules and direct cars to a privileged towing company, according to an act of accusation unsealed Wednesday.
The charges are the latest in a federal investigation into Detroit’s towing proceedings.
“I am deeply disappointed with the crimes allegedly committed by members of the Detroit Police Department. … We hold ourselves to a high standard and these actions fall well below those standards, ”said Chief James White.
Lt. John Kennedy is accused of accepting over $ 14,000 in cash, cars and car repairs from a tow company and an undercover federal agent. The government said it was supposed to investigate the towing company.
Officer Daniel Vickers accepted $ 3,400, according to the indictment.
Kennedy and Vickers were charged with corruption and conspiracy. They asked for attorneys when they appeared in federal court on Wednesday, both strapped to their wrists and ankles.
“I didn’t do it,” Vickers said.
The evidence includes secretly recorded telephone conversations. Kennedy and Vickers made references to a towing company that was not on the police department’s rotation list, according to the government.
It can be lucrative work: towing companies can charge storage fees until a car is claimed and even sell a vehicle at auction after a certain period.
In September, a member of the Detroit city council pleaded guilty to accepting $ 36,000 in bribes related to towing policy monitoring. André Spivey has resigned.
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