LANSING — After fleeing the scene of a suspected carjacking in his capacity as police chief in 2013, James Craig is changing his story as he tries to convince Michiganders that he “led from the front” during his time as Detroit Police Chief.
Detroit Free Press recently revisited the previously scrutinized incident in which Craig said at the time that “as soon as I saw the suspect running to my car, I accelerated out of harm’s way.”
But now, Craig claims, “I wasn’t looking to drive away and get to safety…I made an evasive move — an evasive tactic if you will.”
The Free Press added that despite the extensive coverage of Craig’s actions, he never “sought to correct 2013 accounts of the incident” and “it is not clear why Craig did not attempt to correct the record, or even expand on it, before Thursday.”
This raises the following questions James Craig should have to answer:
- How do you reconcile fleeing a scene like this with your frequently repeated claim that you “led from the front” in your law enforcement career?
- Did you fail to act because you weren’t certified as a law enforcement official?
- Why should Michiganders trust you with bigger opportunities to lead if you let a carjacker go free when you were serving as Detroit’s top law enforcement official?
- If the media’s extensive accounts of your 2013 description of this incident were inaccurate, why haven’t you corrected it previously?
- Are there any other instances in which you fled the scene or otherwise declined to perform the law enforcement duties as you swore to?
