Quarantine Crime Update with Police Chief Robert Shelide

FAQs

• What happened during the break-in attempt at Chief Shelide's own home?

  Shelide said he was asleep on his couch when his wife saw a man in their vehicle and knocked on the window telling him to get out. The man charged onto their porch and tried to force the front door while she screamed at him. Shelide grabbed his pistol; after 20 to 30 seconds the man ran off, broke into a house six doors down and attacked a resident, and West Bloomfield police caught him about ten minutes later. He was wanted on an ICE detainer.

• How has call volume changed in Shelby Township during the pandemic?

  Shelide said call volume was down about 70% from normal, though the department was still getting domestic violence calls and a few bad drunk drivers. He said a crew of four 16- and 17-year-olds in a stolen vehicle tried to break into a gun store a block from the police station, and police took them into custody. He said they tried to rob another gun store the next day.

• Is Shelby Township ticketing people for violating the stay-at-home order?

  Shelide said officers are not writing tickets or arresting anyone. Instead they serve cease-and-desist letters, and when places refuse to close, officers write it up and send it to the city attorney to decide what to do.

• How is the Shelby Township Police Department protecting officers from COVID-19?

  According to Shelide, officers have face masks, including N95 masks, plus gloves, sanitizer and face shields, and cadets clean the building three or four times a day. Of four people the department sent to Wayne State for testing, three had come back negative and the fourth said he was feeling a lot better.