FeedsWayne officers charged for alleged theft
Two former Wayne police officers have been charged with larceny after an incident that took place at an Aug. 8 Kenny Chesney concert in Detroit.
Maria Miller, a spokesperson for the office of the Wayne County Prosecutor, said Greg Anderson and Frank Cavazos face charges of larceny between $200 and $1,000, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison.
She said she didn’t know when the two former officers would turn themselves in to face the charges.
“Usually arraignments are handled by the officer in charge of the case,” Miller said. “He’ll work with them or their attorneys to make those arrangements.”
Miller said a vendor was selling cowboy hats near 2500 Park St. in Detroit in connection with the concert. Cavazos and Anderson allegedly approached him and asked if he had a permit to sell the merchandise. When he said no, the pair allegedly grabbed the hats and told the vendor he could pick them up at the 13th Precinct in Detroit, Miller said. The officers were later observed wearing the hats, she added. They took 21 altogether, valued at about $316, she said.
Other witnesses said the officers were trying to return the hats after the vendor fled the scene.
The two are long-time members of the Wayne Police Department with a solid record of performance, and had never been previously reprimanded for any type of bad conduct. Cavazos was one of the Wayne K-9 officers, partnered with a German Shepherd named Valor. Anderson is the son of Leonard Anderson, the only member of the Wayne Police Department killed in the line of duty. They have both since been fired.
“I just didn’t think I had an alternative,” said Police Chief John Williams. Both have filed grievances.
Williams said, however, it was clear that they broke departmental rules of conduct.
“What I did had nothing to do with the criminal investigation. It was totally separate,” Williams said. “Everything I’ve done is based on my own internal investigation.”
The two officers were part of a group of Wayne officers who attended the concert. Several other officers face disciplinary action, Williams said, but it would be less severe. He said he couldn’t comment on the grievances, either, which are handled through the human resources department.
“I thought it was the appropriate course of action,” Williams said. “If an arbitrator down the line thinks it was inappropriate, that’s his decision. I don’t want to get involved with that.”
He said the decision to terminate the officers—both long-term members of the department—was not taken lightly. It wasn’t easy, either.
“I’ve worked with them for 10 years. I know them; I know their families,” Williams said. “It’s been very difficult. Unfortunately, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. If guys do things they shouldn’t, you don’t have a lot of recourse.
“I’ve been very disappointed with this from the beginning,” he added. “It’s devastating for me as a chief and it’s devastating for us as a department. Our reputation has been tarnished.”
