DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Police Department failed to investigate a 2022 claim that Na’Ziyah Harris had been inappropriately touched by Jarvis Butts, the man later accused of killing and sexually abusing her.
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The alert to police was made more than 20 months before Na’Ziyah would go missing, and came in the form of a Law Enforcement Notification — or LEN — sent by Children’s Protective Services.
“We just didn’t do enough with it,” Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald said in an interview Tuesday, adding that the department has since implemented new policies that would ensure the same mistake doesn’t happen again.
“We could have done better, no question,” he said.
Last month, 7 News Detroit revealed that Jarvis Butts had been the subject of multiple complaints to Children’s Protective Services, including some that named Na’Ziyah, along with a second girl, as victims of improper touching.
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Records show that CPS investigated the allegation against one of the girls — who made no disclosures about any abuse — but not Na’Ziyah. What CPS officials did do, however, was share the alert that named Na’Ziyah with Detroit police in the form of an LEN.
The alerts are common, with the department receiving about a dozen a day and more than 5,000 last year. They are sent when CPS learns of possible criminal behavior that a local jurisdiction may want to investigate.
In this case, the complaint told DPD that “there was an incident at a birthday party” where a child, unnamed, accused Butts “of sexual abuse.”
The complaint went on to name two other children who may have been abused, saying: “Na’ziyah and (name withheld) reported that Jarvis touched them inappropriately as well,” it read, adding later: “Jarvis is a sex offender and a felon.”
Na’Ziyah’s great aunt Jernell says she filed that complaint with CPS that was ultimately made its way to DPD.
"They’re the police, they’re supposed to investigate,” Jernell said in an interview this week. “Everything is there.”
But the department never did investigate, at least with respect to Na’Ziyah.
Instead, according to officials, only the other alleged victim named in the report was questioned because CPS only listed her under the “victim” header, even though Na’Ziyah was identified as being improperly touched.
Butts, when questioned by officers, denied any wrongdoing. He has maintained his innocence since being charged.
“Makes zero sense,” said Tom Berry, a retired Detroit police lieutenant. “Either (DPD) didn’t read it or they didn’t comprehend it. That’s my opinion.”
Berry reviewed the LEN for 7 News Detroit, saying that it was clear the alert mentioned at least two possible victims by name, and made reference to a third.
“Somebody dropped the ball,” he said. “It’s pretty clear by reading that that there’s at least two allegations of sexual assault there.”
Fitzgerald makes no excuses for what happened and says that much has changed with how the department handles the LEN reports it receives since the Na’Ziyah complaint came through.
Today, regardless of who CPS identifies under the victim header, Fitzgerald says DPD interviews everyone identified as being abused.
He pointed out that the original complaint lacked complete information, such as Na’Ziyah’s last name or her address, but acknowledged that “we could have found rather quickly who this young lady was” had the department investigated.
“It’s a horrible excuse,” Fitzgerald said. “We still should have done what we should have done.”
Relatives of Na’Ziyah say they are distraught to learn that the department was warned as early as 2022 that Butts could have been abusing Na’Ziyah.
“The fact that they acknowledge it shouldn’t have worked this way and it took something so tragic for something to happen to her?” said Kewana Morton, a relative of Na’Ziyah.
“You’re damn right it shouldn’t have worked that way. They should have did their job.”
Morton said she too filed complaints with CPS concerning Butts, and wonders if the 13-year-old’s fate might have been different had police ever reached out to her.
“Somebody has to answer for that. They absolutely do,” she said. “CPS and DPD.”
While the department says it is more responsive to alerts like the one that named Na’Ziyah in 2022, it could not say to what degree other complaints like hers were never investigated.
“I think the obvious question that a case like this begs is how many other victims or alleged victims in reports like this were named but never contacted by DPD?” Channel 7’s Ross Jones asked.
“I don’t know. I would hate to speculate even,” Fitzgerald said.
Na’Ziyah's family says they worry for other children whose complaints may have been disregarded by department officials.
“I don’t think it stopped at one child sliding through the cracks. They clearly weren’t doing their jobs. It wasn’t as important,” Morton said.
“How does that happen on their watch?”
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.