Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield told a reporter to “calm down” and declined to comment further when asked about private photographs at the centre of an investigation into Police Chief Todd Bettison. Sheffield said the city’s Office of the Inspector General should be allowed to complete its work and reiterated her confidence in Bettison’s leadership.

The investigation concerns Bettison contacting activist Jahdante Smith and Sheffield’s former partner, Marvin Walker, asking them to remove social-media posts featuring photographs of Sheffield. Smith’s phone was later seized under a search warrant linked to a separate allegation that he threatened someone; Bettison denies influencing that investigation and says the events were unrelated.