Possession of drugs wasn’t the only crime allegedly committed during a recent Detroit traffic stop. One of the arresting officers was caught allegedly stealing $600 from a suspect’s wallet — by his own body camera. WXYZ reports that on March 7, 2025, three police officers observed a suspected drug deal. They pulled over the car that was involved, searched the car, and found drugs, police say. The cops then arrested the two occupants of the vehicle. So far, so good.
However, when the female suspect was released, she claimed $600 was missing from her purse. She filed a complaint, which began an investigation. While civil forfeiture is a big problem, that is not what happened here. Police had no record of the money in their report, nor was any cash submitted as evidence. A review of the body cam footage clearly shows what happened to the money.
“Our [internal affairs] lieutenant took a look at the video and immediately recognized that we had a criminal act here,” Commander Michael McGinnis told WXYZ. “You can see on camera an envelope of money contained in that purse. One minute you see it, next second it’s gone.” The officer was then arrested at the 6th Precinct. Police do not suspect that the other two officers involved in the initial arrest had anything to do with or knew about the theft.
The wheels of justice
This is far from the first time a body cam has caught a cop breaking the law, such as fleeing a traffic stop, drag racing other cops, or covering up excessive force. What makes this case even more remarkable is that the officer’s own body cam provided the evidence used against him. There are plenty of cases of cops turning off body cams to cover up bad behavior, but this one didn’t even try, leading to a seemingly open-and-shut case.
Why, then, has the officer not been identified? After his arrest a month ago, he was suspended with pay while the investigation continues. Why is he still on the payroll? For that matter, why does he still have his job? Everyone should be innocent until proven guilty, police included, but if the body cam evidence is clear enough for McGinnis to flat out tell WXYZ, “It was stolen,” why has there been no further action on this? Just because someone allegedly bought drugs doesn’t mean they should also get robbed, and by the police, no less.
