Detroit woman files complaint against police amid investigation into neighbor threatening her
Detroit woman takes complaints against police to board
A woman waiting for her neighbor to be prosecuted after accusing them of threatening her says justice is on hold because the investigation has stalled.
(FOX 2) - A Detroit woman who filed a complaint against her neighbor over threats they made against her is worried justice won't be served.
She's since taken her concerns to the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners amid worries that the investigation has stalled.
Big picture view:
Tenay Hankins called 911 last summer amid concerns that her neighbor would hurt her. It was July 2025 when Hankins said her interactions with the individual "blew up."
"I grabbed my granddaughter and we just ran out of the driveway because I did not want to get killed," she said.
She filed a police report but heard nothing. Then in September, she watched the security video from her home where she could see both the neighbor and a Detroit police officer walking around her home.
"I looked on my video camera and here’s that police officer fully armed, lollygagging, talking to her, and walking her up and down my property," said Hankins.
She never received an explanation for why the officer was at her home and filed a complaint against them.
She also took her complaint to the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners weeks after - later learning from a high-ranking officer within the department that they wouldn't move forward with prosecution "until we investigate my complaint against the officer."
"My contention is ‘why’?" she said.
Dig deeper:
In response, Hankins filed a separate complaint against that member of the police force - who FOX 2 is only identifying as a high-ranking officer within the department.
She said she has since received two phone calls from the officer that she filed the complaint against.
"You don’t have a right to pull justice from me because I filed a complaint against an officer," said Hankin. "Contact me if you want to vent - this is inappropriate. You are not supposed to be contacting the person who filed a complaint against you."
A Detroit City Council committee has since started looking into Hankin's concerns as well.
The other side:
Detroit police would not provide details of the case, instead sending a statement that reads: "The office of the chief is investigating."
The Source: Interview with Tenay Hankins.