DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Police Department lost out on more than $400,000 in grant funds to train its police officers in April, thanks to a "paperwork issue" officials vow won't happen again.
Watch Ross Jones' video report:
The six-figure mistake is prompting Chief Todd Bettison to put new measures in place to prevent the department from losing out on what is essentially free money given out every year by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES).
"We cannot afford to leave a penny on the table in this city, especially as it goes to training," Detroit Police Commissioner Darryl Woods said in response to the loss in funds.
The training dollars are handed out twice a year by MCOLES, used to teach officers the latest in de-escalation techniques, new technologies, safer ways to interact with the mentally ill, the latest case law, and more.
Earlier this week, 7 News Detroit attended a training with Northville Township police focused on responding to mental health calls safely and constitutionally.
"We really reduce our risk of civil liability, because our staff knows what to do and they know how to do it," Northville Township Police Chief Scott Hilden said.
The money for training is easy to get: departments don’t even need to apply. But in order to continue receiving the funds, departments need to spend the money within two years of receiving it.
When the latest round of training dollars was passed out in April by MCOLES, some 450 police departments were there to collect—from massive agencies like Michigan State Police and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, to tiny departments like Caspian and Otisville.
But while the Dewitt Police Department received a disbursement, the Detroit Police Department did not.
In total, the department lost out on $407,000 in free money to train its officers.
"I think calling it a paperwork issue is probably a very fair characterization," Detroit Police Deputy Chief Michael Parish said.
"And it was a paperwork issue that cost the department about $400,000?" 7 Investigator Ross Jones asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," he said.
Parish makes no excuses for the mistake, telling 7 News Detroit that the department dropped the ball. He says DPD lost out on the funds by failing to spend about $52,000 worth of training money it received back in 2023.
"It was not for lack of training. Chief Bettison has approved a significant amount of training for officers," Parish said. "However, the processing of the invoices and making sure that the dollars were actually spent by the end of 2025, it appears we fell a little short on that."
Darryl Woods, the vice-chair of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, called the loss in funding unacceptable.
"What you have revealed is something major. Someone dropped the ball, and I know that the chief is very angry about it," Woods said.
Settlements for police misconduct lawsuits are usually the largest the city pays. Leaving any training dollars behind, Woods says, is something the city can’t afford.
"We’re not looking for officers to fail in our city. The more that we equip them with the training and the tools that they need, the better off we are and the less money we pay out," Woods said.
The department promises that history won't repeat itself: they’ve instituted new safeguards within their training and account departments to flag any unspent funds before time runs out.
"What it all boils down to, Ross, is we have more eyes than just one or two sets on this material. We’re treating it like it’s a million dollars' worth of assets, so it’s getting all due attention," Parish said.
"When you do make a mistake, what’s the most important thing? Figure out what happened, why? If there’s an apology to be made, you make it, and you move forward," Bourgeois said.
Despite losing out on the $400,000, DPD says it’s still been making sure its officers are receiving training, and that will continue thanks to money they’ve received from other grants.
The money that DPD lost out on was distributed to the rest of the departments across the state that did qualify for the funds.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.