May 7, 2015

Loretta Lynch
U.S. Attorney General
U.S. Dept. of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
Sarah Saldana, Director
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
500 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20536
Barbara McQuade
U.S. Attorney
211 W. Fort Street, suite 2001
Detroit, MI 48226
Re: Terrance Kellom
Dear Ms. Lynch, Ms. Saldana, and Ms. McQuade:
According to media reports, on April 27, 2015, members of the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension
Team (DFAT) entered the home of 20-year-old Terrance Kellom. The officers made contact with
Kellom, presumably to arrest him because of his fugitive status, and at the end of the encounter
the young man lay dead. His body was riddled with ten bullets fired by a U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer named Mitchell Quinn. The ICE officer who killed Mr.
Kellom has a record of violence including criminal charges for assault stemming from an
incident when his ex-wife alleges he held his service weapon to her head. Also, a civil suit for
false arrest and assault filed while Mr. Quinn was a Detroit Police Department (DPD) officer was
settled by the department for $20,000.
At or near the time of Kelloms death, the city of Baltimore, MD was in the throes of rebellion
triggered by the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of police in that city. Both deaths were

among the latest in an ever-growing line of police killings that have occurred nationwide under
questionable circumstances. It is because of all of these killings and the consequent
destabilization of the communities in which they occur that the undersigned organizations urge
extraordinary measures in response.
With respect to the killing of Terrance Kellom, there are serious questions that beg for answers.
The first is why an agent from ICE, whose mission is to enforce our countrys immigration laws,
was engaged in this particular fugitive apprehension effort. Kellom was a U.S. citizen. We
question whether ICE agents are adequately trained to deal with non-immigration matters. In
addition, it is more likely that the police will be able apprehend fugitives with no or minimal
resistance if the officers involved are known and trusted by the community. The desired level of
trust may not exist between local residents and federal agents, making it less likely that arrests
will be peaceful.
Agencies participating in the DFAT task force include not only local law enforcement agencies
and ICE, but also, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Explanations for the
involvement of the federal agencies will also be helpful in evaluating not only the Kellom
killing, but also any benefits or liabilities of the task forces operations.
Because of Kelloms death and the controversy that surrounds it, we call for the following:

A suspension of DFAT operations and the withholding of federal funds from the task
force until investigations have been concluded and a determination has been made that
the task force is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and its
normal operations pose no threat to the safety and security of communities in which they
operate

An investigation of the killing of Terrance Kellom should be conducted by independent

prosecutors.

Law enforcement officers, particularly DFAT and other task forces operating in Detroit
should be required to use body cameras. The accounts of what happened inside of
Kelloms home are in dispute, and body cameras can reduce or eliminate doubts about
how certain law enforcement-civilian contacts transpire. We note that the ACLU
previously called on ICE to adopt body cameras after another non-lethal abuse incident.
However ICE refused, and that refusal that now has consequences for what prosecutors
and the public can learn about Kelloms death.

Law enforcement agencies must engage in effective psychological and substance abuse
screening of all officers particularly those who participate in raids like the one that
resulted in the death of Terrance Kellom.

Any deadly force protocols of law enforcement agencies that permit the use of deadly
force on occasions when an officer reasonably fears death or serious injury should be

replaced by protocols that incorporate a standard oriented toward the preservation of life;
or the use of deadly force only as a measure of last resort.
Representatives of the undersigned organizations will certainly welcome an opportunity to meet
with you to discuss these and related issues. Arrangements for a meeting can be made by
contacting Mark Fancher of the ACLU of Michigan, whose contact information appears below
his signature.
Thank you for your consideration of these matters. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Sincerely,

Mark P. Fancher
Staff Attorney-Racial Justice Project
ACLU of Michigan
2966 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, MI 48201
(313) 578-6822
(313) 578-6811 (fax)
mfancher@aclumich.org

Dawud Walid
Executive Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan (CAIR-MI)
21700 Northwestern Highway, Suite 815
Southfield, MI 48075
(248) 559-2247
dwalid@cair.com

Ron Scott
Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality
220 Bagley, suite 808
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 399-7345
ronrsvp@aol.com

Susan E. Reed
Supervising Attorney
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center
3030 S. 9th St. Suite 1B
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
(269) 492-7196
susanree@michiganimmigrant.org

Branden Snyder
Michigan United (formerly the Alliance for Immigrants Rights
& Michigan Organizing Project)
(313) 492-7696
branden@miunited.org

cc:

Chief James Craig

Prosecutor Kym Worthy