Rochester Hills Native, Ex-Detroit Police Lt. Accepts Bribes: Feds

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — A former Detroit Police lieutenant was sent to prison Tuesday for accepting nearly $15,000 in bribes, federal officials announced.

John F. Kennedy, 57, of Rochester Hills, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for accepting the bribes in conspiracy with another officer in a scandal involving City Hall and the police department.

Kennedy commanded the Detroit Police Department's Integrity Unit, which is a division of the department’s Internal Affairs Division that was responsible for investigating reports of law violations and professional misconduct by police officers and other city employees, officials said.

Kennedy and fellow Detroit police officer Daniel S. Vickers accepted money and other items of value in exchange for Kennedy using his influence to persuade other officers to make tow referrals to a company, officials said.

Making towing referrals directly to a towing company that was not on the city’s towing rotation violated Detroit's rules and an ordinance, which prohibits a towing company from receiving towing referrals if they are not on the police department’s towing rotation, officials said.

In addition to the illegal tow referrals in exchange for the bribes, Vickers and Kennedy also provided the towing company that Kennedy was investigating with confidential information about the status of the Integrity Unit’s case, officials said.

Kennedy and Vickers agreed to accept bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cars, car parts, car repairs and new carpeting for Vickers’ home, officials said. Prosecutors said Kennedy accepted bribes totaling $14,950 during the course of the conspiracy.

Vickers accepted over $3,400 in bribe payments and was ordered to serve 27 months in prison, officials said.

Vickers and Kennedy were charged as part of the government’s investigation of corruption within the government and the Police Department of the City of Detroit relating to the towing industry and other matters.

"This former officer's actions are unacceptable for anyone who has the privilege to wear the Detroit Police badge," Police Chief James White said in a statement.

Six defendants have been charged in the probe, and five of those six defendants have been convicted in the scandal.

Former Detroit City Councilman André Spivey pleaded guilty in 2021 to accepting $36,000 in bribes related to oversight of towing policy. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison.