Chief's silence creates snag

BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver is refusing to talk with Wayne County prosecutors investigating the discovery of a handgun in his luggage.

Kevin Simowski, chief of operations for the Prosecutor's Office, said Thursday that the investigation is taking longer than expected because Oliver backed out of an agreement to make a statement on Oct. 23 regarding the matter. Now, Simowski and his colleagues plan to interview the three Detroit police officers who accompanied Oliver to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Oct. 18, before the gun was found.

"When we get that completed, we will make a determination," Simowski said. "We're not just sitting up here having a legal debate. We are doing a thorough investigation."

One of the three officers traveled with Oliver on the Oct. 18 trip to Philadelphia for a conference of police chiefs. The other two merely accompanied him to the airport.

Simowski said Oliver had agreed to come to the Prosecutor's Office on Oct. 23 and make a statement. He later called back and requested that the interview be postponed a day, Simowski said.

The following day, Detroit attorney Anthony Chambers showed up at the office and said he was representing Oliver. Simowski said Chambers informed his office that the chief would not be talking.

"There's no criminal activity on the chief's part," Chambers said Thursday, declining to comment further.

Oliver, contacted Thursday, said he could not comment on the matter.

Simowski said Oliver has every right not to talk to prosecutors, but that the chief threw them off somewhat because he initially agreed to the interview.

"Obviously, it would have been helpful to use if he gave a statement," Simowski said. "But that's his decision."

The controversy began Oct. 18 when federal authorities found a loaded handgun in Oliver's checked luggage after he arrived for a 1:30 p.m. Northwest Airlines flight to Philadelphia. Oliver has repeatedly said the weapon was a .22-caliber handgun, but Simowski said it is a .25-caliber Colt semiautomatic handgun.

Prosecutors are trying to determine whether the chief should face criminal charges because the handgun was never registered in Michigan.

Simowski said a trace of the serial number on the gun shows that Oliver purchased it in Phoenix, his hometown, about 30 years ago.

The Prosecutor's Office became involved on Oct. 20, after Metropolitan Airport Police faxed over a warrant request from the gun incident. A warrant request does not necessarily mean airport police were recommending charges, merely that they were asking for prosecutors to review the case and make a determination.

Prosecutors have interviewed officials from the airline, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration as well as Airport Police, Simowski said.

The TSA has already fined Oliver $300 for failing to declare the weapon when he checked in his luggage, which is required of passengers traveling with a gun.

Oliver's statements to reporters after the gun's discovery can also be considered evidence, Simowski said. Oliver told the Free Press that he never registered the gun in Michigan and didn't know he had to. He also said he didn't know he had to declare the weapon at the airport.