During the American Civil War, the city's racial tensions escalated, and protests against the draft led to the Detroit race riot of 1863.

The riots resulted in two deaths, the destruction of 35 buildings, and over 200 Black residents left homeless.

[6] In February 1940, Mayor Richard Reading, the Superintendent of Police, the county sheriff and over a hundred more were indicted on corruption charges.

[7] In 1957, the Detroit Police Department employed 5,000 policemen and operated a fleet of ambulances to respond to medical emergencies.

[9] At the time, Detroit had the highest rate of police-involved shootings of any large city in the United States, surpassing New York, Los Angeles, and Houston.

[12] On January 23, 2011, 38-year-old Lamar Moore walked into the 6th precinct with a pistol shotgun and shot and wounded 4 officers before being killed.

Police Chief James Craig told the Detroit Free Press that the brawl was "probably one of the most embarrassing things I've seen in this department.

"[14] On June 11, 2010 it was reported that the City of Detroit would acquire the former MGM Grand Detroit temporary casino building (originally the IRS Data Center) on John C. Lodge Freeway for $6.23 million[15] and convert it into a new police headquarters complex which would also house a crime lab operated by the Michigan State Police.

[23] The table below lists people killed by and controversies involved with the Detroit Police Department.