Mayor Sheffield Rejects $200K Kickback Claims as Phone Seizure Controversy Widens

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	Mayor Sheffield Rejects $200K Kickback Claims as Phone Seizure Controversy Widens Jean Davis — Local/State Tell Us Detroit News Bureau DETROIT — A dispute involving Mayor Mary Sheffield, Police Chief Todd Bettison, and social media activist Jahdante Smith has escalated into a broader debate over political influence, police conduct, and free speech after Detroit police seized Smith’s cellphone weeks after he refused to remove personal photos of the mayor from his social media accounts. Smith had posted undated images appearing to show Sheffield kissing her former boyfriend, Marvin Walker. In a 24‑minute phone call later released publicly, Bettison urged Smith to take the photos down, saying he was appealing “as a man” and a father because he believed the posts were meant to embarrass a woman. Bettison insisted he acted on his own and not at Sheffield’s request. He also contacted Walker and asked him to stop circulating the photos, according to accounts of the incident. Roughly two weeks after Smith declined to remove the images, Detroit police executed a search warrant and seized his phone. Smith claims the move was retaliation for refusing Bettison’s request. The Detroit Police Department denies that the seizure was retaliatory, saying the warrant stemmed from a separate, ongoing criminal investigation tied to a citizen complaint alleging telecommunications harassment and threats toward a third party. The controversy intensified after investigative journalist Charlie LeDuff, writing in The Michigan Enjoyer, reported allegations from Walker claiming he acted as a “bagman” and collected more than $200,000 for Sheffield during her tenure on the Detroit City Council. Sheffield forcefully rejected the accusations in a public statement, calling them false and unsupported. She said Walker never received city funds, never held city contracts, and that any money exchanged between them was strictly personal — repayments of loans she had previously given him. She also said she never used her office to influence police actions involving Walker or anyone connected to him, describing the situation as an effort by a former partner to harass and intimidate her with personal photos and fabricated claims. Sheffield said she would not be deterred from her work on behalf of Detroit residents. A spokesperson for the mayor said Sheffield had no prior knowledge that Bettison planned to call Smith. None of the allegations against Sheffield, nor the circumstances surrounding the phone seizure, have been tested in court.