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Protesters at the TCF Center in 2020.
In November 2020, it became national news when Donald Trump supporters were banging on windows and chanting "stop the vote" at the TCF Center in downtown Detroit, trying to intimidate election workers tabulating ballots. Some protesters even made it into the building but were stopped before they could do harm.
Detroit Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison, who will take over as interim police chief on Nov. 11, says law enforcement and election officials have plans to better protect the venue, now called the Huntington Place, where ballots are tallied from around the city.
Bettison, who appeared Saturday on the podcast, "Detroit in Black and White," said he can't disclose details of the security plans for this election.
Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison
"What I can tell you is that there are plans," he said, adding that Detroit Police Chief James White is working with the U.S. attorney, FBI, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies, as well as private security and the election commission.
"They're working on the integrity of it and to also ensure that the poll workers are safe and that nothing is interfered with," he said.
Bettison, who was deputy police chief in 2020, said he was at the TCF Center during the madness when some protesters actually got inside.
"They tried to actually rush the room...and they were utilizing different entry points, coming in, trying to infiltrate." But he said police were able to stop them.
He said "nobody really expected something like that...we were able to prevail."
"We're prepared. We ensured (security) then and we're going to even ensure it with tighter security" this time around.
