By Steve Neavling
Federal agents have raided the Michigan home of a high-ranking Homeland Security official who is under investigation for alleged misconduct.
The raid occurred Friday at the Royal Oak home of Vance Callender, 49, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations’ Detroit office, The Detroit Free Press reports.
The office overseas investigation in Michigan and Ohio.
A neighbor said plainclothes agents removed a briefcase and manila envelope.
“Special Agent-in-Charge Callender is a highly decorated federal law enforcement official whose security and reputation are our top priority. That said, some rumors about him online are incorrect. To the extent, Mr. Callender is required to enforce or defend his rights, he is prepared to do so,” Callender’s lawyer, Nick Oberheiden, said in statement.
Oberheiden declined to elaborate on the investigation or the “rumors.”
In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said, “As public servants working for a law enforcement agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) takes allegations of misconduct very seriously. Any allegations of misconduct are appropriately investigated, and any employee, regardless of rank or seniority, who has committed provable misconduct, will be held accountable.”
The statement added, “Where necessary, ICE works with federal and/or state and local law enforcement who may investigate such allegations. Per agency protocol, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) will also review the allegations.”
Callender has been the head of the Detroit office for about a year. Prior to that, he oversaw investigations in San Antonio.
Callender’s career in law enforcement began in 1995, when he was a sheriff’s deputy in Victoria County in Texas.
He became a special agent with the U.S. Customs Service in 2001.
Callender has a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Texas State University.
