HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – Highland Park Mayor DeAndre Windom is at the center of an internal investigation after two police officers pulled him over late Saturday night along Woodward Avenue at Ferris Street.
The mayor was behind the wheel of a city-owned Cadillac equipped with police lights. He reportedly was driving erratically and flashing emergency lights to pass through intersections and avoid traffic.
That's why the officers pulled Windom over. Local 4 spoke with one of those officers who wished not to be named in this story.
"I heard the door open up to his Cadillac, and I turned around and he jumped out of his Cadillac and walked aggressively toward me and chest-bumped me. That pushed him back a couple of inches and then he got up in my face and then stated, 'What are you gonna do?' I just wanted to disengage at that time and I raised both my hands with my palms out and I said, 'Nothing sir.' Then he asked how long have I worked in Highland Park and I said since November of 2012. He said, 'Not anymore. You're fired. You're outta here,'" the officer said.
The officer tells Local 4 later that night the police chief stripped them of their badges and told them they were fired.
It wasn't until several days later, after the officers hired an attorney, that city leaders called the whole episode a misunderstanding. They asked the officers to return to work.
"I asked the chief if (we) were fired and he said, 'Yes ... he's the man. You should humble yourself."
The officers are back on the job, but this is far from over. Local 4 tried to reach the mayor and the police chief multiple times Wednesday without success. No one returned calls.
The city attorney said he had not read the police report but did confirm an internal investigation is underway.