Detroit Police Chief James White on Monday announced the suspension of two officers who were criminally charged in two separate, off-duty incidents in the metro area last week.
David Apperson, a five-year, male veteran of the Detroit Police Department was charged in a July 27 rape case in Woodhaven.
Two days after that incident, a female Detroit police corporal with 26 years on the force was charged with felonious assault, accused of brandishing a firearm during a road rage incident in Madison Heights, police said.
Police did not disclose the officers’ names. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s office confirmed the Apperson case. He was arraigned Monday and allowed release with GPS tether on $100,000 bond.
Messages seeking the second officer’s identity were left with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s office and other officials Monday.
White said he will recommend to the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners that the two officers be suspended without pay.
“This is very disappointing for us,” White said. He described the allegations as “certainly disturbing.”
More: Melvindale business faces 59 misdemeanor charges as Detroit cracks down on sign ordinance
More: Whitmer signs $57.4B state budget, the first crafted by Michigan Democrats in 40 years
“I often say wearing a badge is an absolute privilege, it is not a right,” White added. The two officers charged “did not uphold that privilege to wear the badge,” he said.
QuanTez Pressley, chair of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, called the allegations “deeply disappointing.”“It’s disheartening for our community,” he said.
The board declined to release the officers’ names Monday.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, [email protected] or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Two Detroit cops criminally charged in separate road rage, rape cases
