DETROIT (WXYZ) — A Detroit Police Department lieutenant has been suspended after a heating interaction at a protest over the weekend.
Chief James White on Wednesday said Lt. Brandon Cole is suspended. He was previously temporarily reassigned as an internal investigation was launched, where White said he learned “additional facts.”
On Sunday, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered downtown as President Joe Biden was a keynote speaker at the Detroit NAACP Branch Freedom Fund Dinner at Huntington Place.
In a video posted online of the interaction, Cole said to a pro-Palestinian protester “Why don’t you just go back to Mexico?” The incident led to backlash in the community.
Watch the video posted online below:
During a press conference on Monday, Detroit police released body camera video that showed a longer portion of the interaction.
“We are an inclusive department. This is not a theme; this is who we are,” White said during the press conference.
Police said the exchange was not motivated by race but rather the lieutenant was referencing to a vacation in Mexico that the protester involved, Lexis Zeidan, had posted about publicly.
Watch the body camera video below:
“The protester that the lieutenant was engaging was recently out of town on vacation in Mexico and the lieutenant was aware of that. His comment was related to her returning to vacation,” said Michael McGinnis, a commander and head of internal affairs.
Police say the lieutenant was called out by name by demonstrators who brought up his personal life. In a statement released Wednesday, White said the comments made toward Cole were not said by Zeidan. Instead, White said the comments were made by another demonstrator nearby. That person has not yet been identified.
Watch the press conference with DPD below:
In the statement, White said his concerns “worsened” during the internal investigation, which is why he decided to suspend Cole.
White is also planning to submit a referral to the Board of Police Commissioners to have Cole’s pay withheld.
“Despite the hard work of the officers at the event, the recent protest was one of the larger ones we have had to deal with over the past couple of years, which has revealed deficiencies in the operations of the unit,” part of White’s statements said. “For this reason, the Department will be examining the unit’s leadership practices, ensuring that officers continue to adhere to this Department’s policies and training. If warranted, appropriate changes will be made.
On Monday, 7 News Detroit spoke with Zeidan about the interaction.
Watch our previous report where we talked to Zeidan below:
“I mean immediately, I said ‘I’m not even Mexican,’” Zeidan previously told us. “What you see is a lieutenant who is supposed to be surveilling and ensuring things remain peaceful and calm only engaging in conversation with protests that was clearly unprofessional and escalating a situation in which we were peacefully protesting and in fact, following rules.”
