Royal Oak Police officer resigns after stopping black man for 'looking suspiciously' at white woman
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ROYAL OAK, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Royal Oak police officer has resigned, two weeks after he questioned a black man when a white woman claimed he was staring at her.
Royal Oak's police chief disclosed the resignation Monday at a city council meeting. Chief Corrigan O'Donohue said the officer quit Friday "when faced with the consequences of his actions."
The officer was not named.
The woman called 911 and reported feeling uncomfortable after 20-year-old Devin Myers circled her vehicle on Aug. 13. Myers says he had parked his car and was walking to a restaurant when he was stopped by police. He believes he was racially profiled.
O'Donohue said the stop shouldn't have lasted 20 minutes. He said the officer also shouldn't have asked for Myers' identification.
O'Donohue said he apologized to Myers two days after the incident, saying that one of the officers was a probationary officer who made a mistake.
According to a Facebook live stream shot by Kimiko Adolph, Myers was stopped by police as he was walking down 4th Street Tuesday evening because a woman called police on him for looking at her. Adolph and Myers both said in the video that she called because he 'looked suspiciously' at her.
"On behalf of the police department, I would like to apologize to Mr. Myers for how he was treated. What should have been a very short encounter was extended when the officer involved insisted on getting Mr. Myers' identification. The officer had no legal right to demand the identification and should have simply advised Mr. Myers why we were there and allowed him to go on his way. The officer involved is a new, probationary officer and he made a mistake. This officer will be provided with remedial training to address this issue."
However, it wasn't just the probationary officer or the second officer on scene who made mistakes, police said. After Myers asked for a supervisor, the responding leader did not handle the situation correctly, police said.
"The responding supervisor did not handle this situation in a manner I expect Royal Oak supervisors to conduct themselves. He did quickly advise Mr. Myers that he was free to go; however, he did not effectively look into the situation or allow those present the opportunity to express their concerns."
In the letter, police said the practice is "not acceptable", the supervisor has been disciplined, and every Royal Oak Police supervisor would receive additional training.
According to police, the caller said she was uncomfortable because a man was circling her car, staring at her from across the street, and possibly taking pictures of her and her son.
All told, Myers was detained for about 19 minutes by Royal Oak Police and a supervisor arrived 17 minutes into the encounter and advised he was free to go after two minutes.
"This is an unfortunate incident where the ROPD did not live up to our own standards. Corrective action has been taken and we will continue to hold all members of the ROPD to the highest standards."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.