DETROIT — A battle over control of a Detroit church came to a head recently when members of one faction changed the locks on the westside house of worship, sparking a confrontation that ended with the pastor of the opposing group handcuffed in the back of a police squad car and later claiming officers had "aided in a church-jacking."
Police officials say they're investigating a complaint that was filed by 180 Church Pastor Lorenzo Sewell following the June 7 incident outside the church at 13660 Stansbury near Grand River. Sewell claims officers took the side of a group called Stand With Evangel by cuffing and detaining him in the car for about a half-hour.
Stand With Evangel member George Bogle, whose father founded Evangel Church in 1968, said an appeals court ruling last year gave his group control over the church and insists Sewell "lost his kingdom and now refuses to leave after we fired him."
