Detroit, Michigan – Capt. Scott Hall has been part of the Detroit Police Department for 23 years. Despite receiving 56 citizen complaints during the years, he was promoted to captain last August. However, his career is now in question after he was suspended following domestic violence charges.
Per the department, Hall attacked his wife, also a cop, in their home in Birmingham. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but police Chief James White decided to demote Hall to lieutenant but allowed him to continue collecting pay.
Capt. Scott Hall attacked his wife earlier this month
The suspect was arrested on January 2 in Beverly Hills after local authorities pulled Hall over and took him into custody. The attack allegedly took place prior to the attack. Police responded to Hall’s home following a 911 call made by Hall’s wife. She informed the responding officers that Hall had attacked and choked her before leaving the house in a police-provided vehicle. She decided to call the police because she was afraid for her life.
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The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners met in August and decided to promote Hall. Chief James White still claims he was confident in his decision to support Hall’s promotion back then. During the meeting, White explained to other members that Hall had overcome his problems over the years, claiming that the dozens of citizen complaints were a thing of the past.
“I look at who he has been since he’s become a leader in this organization, and I also look at how he engages with our citizens. … I will tell you; I proudly make this recommendation despite who he was. I make this recommendation because of who he is. And I make this recommendation because I am confident, he can save officers who are going down the wrong path. Leadership is what happens when no one is watching, and he is a leader, and he is a good leader.”
All of the members voted for Hall’s promotion except Police Commissioner Willie Burton. Speaking to the Metro Times, Burton explained his decision not to vote for Hall’s promotion due to his past and numerous complaints. He is not surprised by the most recent incident.
“I felt like Scott Hall was not ready to move forward with a promotion. We want our officers to have the same love and compassion for our residents as we do. We have many good officers within the department who don’t have any blemishes on their record and were more deserving for a promotion,” Burton further explained.
Burton also questioned why Hall, who is white, was suspended with pay, while another officer, who was Black, was suspended without pay following similar allegations.
“It would be nice to see the chief be more consistent,” Burton says. “One of the officers was demoted but got to keep his pay, but the other officer was demoted and was suspended without pay. Where’s the consistency?”
The police department hasn’t provided additional details. We are closely monitoring the case, and we will update the story as the story develops.