Kid Rock's a Cop. Who Knew? Hint: Not the Citizens of Oakley

Robert James Ritchie, who performs as Kid Rock, is a reserve police officer in the Village of Oakley under scrutiny as an alleged pay-for-play scheme. (Photo via Flickr)

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Recently released court records show Kid Rock is a reserve police officer in a Michigan hamlet under scrutiny for an alleged pay-for-play scheme that gives celebrities and others special law enforcement status in exchange for cash and equipment donations.

Earlier this month, the Detroit rocker – Robert James Ritchie in private life – became the 149th member of the previously secret group of civilians deputized as reserve officers for the Village of Oakley, The Saginaw News/MLive.com reports.

Oakley Police Chief Robert Reznick kept the names secret until his department was compelled to reveal them in Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Hemlock attorney Philip Ellison, who wants to determine who is a reservist in Oakley and whether they paid for the privilege.

The reservists are allowed to carry firearms into areas where the public is banned from doing so, such as in bars and at ballparks, regardless of whether they’re on duty.

Is Kid Rock Inspecting Halloween Candy?

The ratio of auxiliary officers to citizens in Oakley is greater than one-to-three, an excessive number according to critics like Ellison.

The document containing Kid Rock’s name remains sealed until a hearing, but Ellison told The Saginaw News he’s allowed to talk about what’s at stake in making it public.

In a court motion, Ellison argues the “real questions of public interest” are raised about how the police chief in a sleepy village came to know an internationally famous rock star – “and why this international rock star would have any legitimate interest in volunteer activities such as cooking hot dogs at community events or inspecting Halloween candy.”

In media interviews, Reznick said reserve officers serve primarily at community events.

Who’s Policing America’s Streets?

In an odd twist of timing, the investigation in Michigan has some striking similarities to allegations that have surfaced recently in Tulsa, OK. After having allegedly mistaken his handgun for a stun gun, a 73-year-old volunteer deputy shot and killed an unarmed suspect on April 2.

An attorney representing the family of the victim in that case told CNN that the volunteer deputy, Robert Bates, didn’t have the training to join a drug sting operation, but paid for privilege with cars and video equipment donations to Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.

CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin said the Oklahoma case raises troubling questions about who is policing America’s streets

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“Do we want really what are ordinary citizens, with enough money to play to be police officers, policing our streets? This is a very, very dangerous precedent,” Hostin said. “And I think it’s now time for either the Justice Department, perhaps, or every single police department to review this, the deputy status, because we’re going to see more and more of this kind of thing, if it isn’t happening more than we even know.”

Phil Stinson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University, cited John du Pont, the real-life killer depicted in the film “Foxcatcher” who regularly made donations to police, as an example of “very concerning” consequences of pay-for-play schemes.

“So we’ve actually seen this before, and if you think about the troubles police departments have had with budgets in recent years, it’s rather tempting if you’re the head of that type of agency to take someone up on this, and give them the action experiences that they’re looking for,” Stinson told CNN’s Andersen Cooper. “It’s really pay for play.”