Accusations made on Interim PD Chief

Rushton refutes claims made against him

 

 

IMLAY CITY — A former Command Officer for the City of Warren attended last week’s Imlay City commission meeting and shared what he claimed to be background information on current Imlay City Interim Police Chief Charles Rushton.

Rushton was hired by City Manager Craig Horton a few weeks ago to oversee the police department while Chief Bret Selby is off on a leave.

The Interim Chief is a former member of the Warren Police Department where he was responsible for over 200 officers. Rushton has more than 26 years of experience in law enforcement.

James Wolfe, who said he was a former decorated command officer with the Warren department, addressed the commission during public comment time, stating, “your Interim Police Chief is a fraud and a liar.”

Wolfe went on to say Interim Chief Rushton had a number of disciplinary actions taken against him, including a sexual harassment case, during his time with the Warren PD that resulted in at least two separate times where he was given multi-day suspensions. “Those were removed from his personnel file by the mayor of Warren at the time,” Wolfe alleged.

According to Wolfe, Rushton is, “currently involved in another case” as a result of his employment with the City of Warren. “You don’t know what you have on your hands here,” he stated to commission board members.

Reached at his Imlay City office Friday, interim Chief Rushton said, “what was said at the meeting is a fabrication. He (Wolfe) was upset about promotions that he didn’t receive, or one that he may have been given after I had been promoted and he was upset. He didn’t like that.”

According to Rushton, who felt Wolfe “had an axe to grind”, Wolfe served as a Captain of the Warren department and later retired as a Sgt.

Interim Chief Rushton issued a letter regarding Wolfe’s claims. Below is the letter:

“On 12-16-2025 at the Imlay City Council meeting, James Wolfe made several statements concerning my background and handling of different incidents while serving as either the Deputy Commissioner or Acting Commissioner of the Warren Police Department. He mentioned his rank as a captain with the Warren Police Department but officially retired as a Sergeant earlier this week. These comments were disappointing and inaccurate.’

The letter goes on to say; “I am proud of my service to the citizens of the City of Warren and the Warren Police Department. I served over 26 years for the Warren Police Department and recently retired in good standing. Prior to being hired as the Interim Police Chief, Imlay City did an extensive background investigation following the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standard guidelines. This background included a review of personnel files and a MCOLES review of employment history.”

The Chief continued, “Wolfe made comments concerning alleged cover-ups of possible criminal behavior by a member of the Warren Police Dept. I still have responsibilities to the Warren Police Department. While I cannot comment on the investigation, as a matter of department practice, I requested an outside law enforcement agency investigate the incident and the officer’s behavior. This request was made within two hours of the allegation being made by the victim. I am not going to go into any further detail on this incident.”

He concluded his statement by saying, “I am proud to serve the residents of Imlay City and appreciate the support of the members of the Imlay City Police Department.”
Best regards,
Charles Rushton
Chief of Police
Imlay City, Michigan

City Manager Horton said he was caught a bit off guard by the comments of Wolfe and felt the city had done their due diligence in vetting Rushton.

“We had a couple guys go down to Warren and do the background check,” Horton explained. “There was nothing that came back as a concern that we saw. There was nothing on him when they ran the MCOLES report. It was all good. We’ll be looking in to this (Wolfe’s comments) certainly.”