During his upbringing in Detroit, Kenneth Nixon witnessed frequent instances of police harassment, predominantly towards Black individuals. At the age of 19, Nixon, a father of two, established a towing business and took steps towards fulfilling his aspiration of attending college.
However, everything changed on September 21, 2005, when Nixon was wrongfully convicted of murder. For 16 years, he served his sentence until a judge in Wayne County dismissed all charges and freed him in February 2021.
Last week, Nixon filed a federal lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department, alleging that they framed him and used fabricated testimony from an inmate in search of early release.
Reflecting on the lawsuit, Nixon expressed a mixture of excitement and frustration. He stated, “It is disheartening that we have to rely on a judge to enforce systemic change and challenge the DPD.”
Despite his release from prison, Nixon continues to be haunted by the wrongful conviction. He explained, “Clearing my record took months. Every job application requires me to explain this unjust conviction, as does every housing application.”
The Detroit Police Department declined to comment on the matter due to ongoing litigation.
According to local reports, Naomi Vaughn and her five children were residing with her boyfriend when their home was targeted with a Molotov cocktail, resulting in a fire that claimed the lives of two children.
Nixon’s family members and the lawsuit assert that he was at home with his girlfriend during the incident. However, due to a previous affair between Vaughn’s boyfriend and Nixon’s girlfriend, Vaughn’s family accused Nixon of seeking revenge out of jealousy.
The lawsuit highlights the inconsistencies in the boyfriend’s statement to the police. For instance, he initially claimed to be unable to identify the driver of the getaway car, but later, he stated that Nixon’s girlfriend was behind the wheel.
The police heavily relied on a statement from Vaughn’s 13-year-old son, who also implicated Nixon in starting the fire. However, the lawsuit reveals that the boy’s statement was so inconsistent that a police memo recognized the influence of family members and the need for more evidence.
The lawsuit further alleges that the police fabricated information and evidence to support the boy’s account, including misleading an interrogated family member and providing inaccurate information to prosecutors regarding Nixon’s whereabouts during the fire.
“I was happy to be free for sure. I was glad we were finally able to prove my innocence. I think overall police departments across the country could do a better job of ridding the bad actors, but they don’t.”
– Kenneth Nixon
The lawsuit reveals that Nixon passed a polygraph test, but detectives falsely claimed that he failed. (Nixon voluntarily took another polygraph years later from an independent examiner and passed once again.)
Furthermore, officers discovered evidence implicating another individual in the fire, but this information was not disclosed during the criminal proceedings.
During Nixon’s trial, officers relied on the statement of a jailhouse informant who allegedly fabricated Nixon’s confession. According to the lawsuit, one of the detectives promised the informant a reduced sentence in exchange for a statement related to the case.
Years later, after numerous appeals, the Cooley Law Innocence Project took on Nixon’s case and, following a reinvestigation, successfully had all charges against him dismissed.
Expressing his relief at being exonerated, Nixon commented, “I was happy to be free for sure. I was glad we were finally able to prove my innocence. I think overall police departments across the country could do a better job of ridding the bad actors, but they don’t.”
Nixon’s lawsuit accuses the Detroit police of engaging in flawed investigations and relying on fabricated informant testimony to wrongfully incarcerate individuals.
In 2003, Detroit entered into a federal consent decree following revelations of excessive use of force and unlawful detentions. This type of binding agreement, enforced by the court, has been employed by the federal government to monitor and reform troubled police departments nationwide.
Transparency concerns regarding officers with misconduct record in the department persist. Last year, the department announced its intent to redact such records and disciplinary cases, making it challenging for the public and media to access police personnel files. This decision came shortly after the identification of over 100 “high-risk” officers with a history of misconduct.
Nixon reflected on the reputation of the Detroit Police Department, stating, “For years, the Detroit Police Department has been associated with negativity. It’s been a deep-rooted culture for decades.”
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