This is as dumb as the headline suggests. Cops from two Detroit police precincts exchanged punches and pulled guns on one another, after an undercover drug raid didn’t go exactly as planned, according to reports. An internal investigation is now underway.
Charlie LeDuff, a former reporter for The Detroit News and the local Fox affiliate, shared word of the altercation early Friday. At first, it seemed comical—how the hell does this sort of thing happen?
By Friday evening, the dispute—involving two dozen (allegedly) unwitting cops—was confirmed.
Here’s Fox 2 in Detroit’s recap of what transpired:
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.
Wait! It gets better.
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.
One of the units had bodycams rolling throughout the entire melee, Fox 2 notes, and the footage has since become evidence in the internal investigation. I’m not sure if Michigan’s public records law exempts Complete And Total Idiocy Caught On Camera from disclosure, but I assume we’ll be seeing video of this sooner rather than later.
One resident offered up shrewd advice for the officers involved, telling Fox 2: “You’ve gotta have to have more communication, I guess. I don’t understand what happened about that—communicate.”
Seriously.