Bryan Ferguson, a member of the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners, has resigned after he was caught with a sex worker in his car by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Deputies said they caught the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners member engaged in a sex act in his vehicle at 7:15 a.m. on Wednesday, July 12. He was issued a misdemeanor citation for indecent or obscene conduct involving a sex act with a prostitute by two undercover narcotics officers.
Capt. Jason Bates said that Ferguson asked him and another responding officer if they could "help him out," an allegation Ferguson has denied, calling the situation is a "big misunderstanding."
Bates told Fox 2 Detroit that Ferguson identified himself as a Detroit police commissioner during the interaction. He added that his title or position doesn't make him "above the law," however.
Ferguson resigned in a press release shared on Thursday. "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of Detroit in police oversight," he wrote. "After further consideration of the best interests of my family and the Board, I am choosing to resign as District 1 Police Commissioner effective immediately."
Ferguson initially denied the allegations and claimed a woman he didn't know tried to get into his truck when officers "pulled up right on" him. "I wasn't hiding anything," he said, as reported by the Detroit Free Press earlier this week. "This is rough. This is rough to tell. Because now I’m going to have to have this conversation with my family."
