An official inquiry confirms what Rev. Jerome Warfield. Sr. sensed early last year: He was being tailed by undercover cops.
Rev. Jerome Warfield Sr., a former Board of Police Commissioners member, is pastor at Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church on Detroit's west side.
There's still no clue about why Warfield, a Board of Police Commissioners member at the time, was the subject of internal affairs division surveillance at least six times, reports Simon Shaykhet of WXYZ (video below).
On Tuesday, the Office of Inspector General filed a report concluding former acting Detroit Police Chief Chester Logan ordered cops in the internal affairs unit to follow the former commissioner.
At the time, the commander voiced concerns, but he was overruled.
On multiple occasions between January and March, Warfield was under close surveillance near his home and other places by the same department he served. . . .
The three-page report, posted here, says:
Surveillance of a civilian official with “supervisory control and oversight of the Police Department” represents a clear example of department waste and abuse . . .Subjecting members of the Board of Police Commissioners to unwarranted surveillance would certainly frustrate the purpose of the board and have a chilling effect on the members.
Warfield is pastor at Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church on Detroit's west side.
The five-member city board, which he chaired for a term, was created in 1974 by City Charter. It meets weekly and oversees department policies, rules and regulations. It also hears appeals in employee discipline cases.
When the clergyman first reported last May that he was followed by unmarked cars with tinted windows, WXYZ notes, former Mayor Dave Bing's office issued this statement: "We can affirm no DPD officer was authorized to follow any member of the Board of Police Commissioners."
As context for the spying mystery, Shaykhet tells viewers:
Back then, politics led to tension between the board and mayor's office over the hiring of a new chief.
