From Left to Right; Chief Haddad, Hammoud, Salisbury and Nasser.

DEARBORN — Police Chief Ron Haddad is looking to hire more officers into the department’s police force in 2015 with the assistance of a Department of Justice grant. 

The Dearborn Police Department currently has 178 officers. Haddad seems adamant about hiring qualified candidates from the community and hopes to have 190 officers serving on the force by the end of 2015.

“As long as they qualify, we definitely want people from the community,” Haddad told The Arab American News. “We are trying to make sure the department reflects the community we serve.” 

The department has received criticism from the Arab American community in the past for its lack of Arab officers. But this year the majority of the officers hired in have been residents from the Dearborn-Dearborn Heights community.

Haddad attributes the grooming of worthy candidates to the department’s thriving Explorer and Internship Program. Earlier this year, for example, Dearborn resident Adam Baydoun, a graduate of Fordson High School, was hired in as a police officer after completing a successful internship stint with the department.

Last month, three more officers from the community were hired in: Samir Nasser, Michael Hammoud, and Christopher Salisbury.

Nasser is a graduate of Edsel Ford High School and has a bachelor’s from Madonna University in criminal justice. He also served as a full-time deputy at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. 

“I felt that there were bigger opportunities working for Dearborn,” Nasser said. “There is nothing like patrolling your own city. It’s good to have people who have an understanding of the culture serving this community.”

Hammoud also currently resides in Dearborn and is a graduate of Annapolis High School in Dearborn Heights. He attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he obtained a degree in Criminal Justice. Hammoud has an extensive background, which includes service in the Air Force and as a deputy at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. 

“I grew up in the community and I used to teach Martial Arts here,” Hammoud said.  “There is just something different about living here and serving the community you grew up with. I enjoy this department’s community outlook and reach.”

Salisbury, currently a Livonia resident, grew up in Dearborn as well. He graduated from Divine Child High School and attended Henry Ford Community College. After graduating from the Detroit Police academy, he served as an officer in the Detroit Police Department for more than 20 years, including time with the undercover units. 

“I came here based on the professionalism of the department,” Salisbury said. “The interaction between the two departments was always good. It’s a big enough department to have opportunities to do different things, but it’s still small enough where it’s quiet, compared to Detroit.”

Salisbury compared Dearborn’s diverse community to Detroit’s, adding that he’s knowledgeable about various cultures and is looking to grasp even more here.

“Both Detroit and Dearborn are pretty culturally diverse,” Salisbury said. “In Detroit, there’s a large Hispanic population and majority of the city is African American. There’s also a large up-and-coming area where you have an Arabic population, so I’ve had a lot of dealings with the culture, but I’m still learning a lot of things here every single day.”

The three officers have spent much of the last couple of months patrolling and getting familiar with Dearborn’s streets. This month, they will switch over to the night shift. Nasser said he wouldn’t be surprised if he bumps into residents who know him, but that they shouldn’t expect to be treated any differently.

“Growing up in Dearborn, I’m probably going to get that a lot,” Nasser said.  “However this is a job and I’m somebody who is trying to do the job ethically. An officer has discretion of what they can and can’t do whether you know the person or not. I might not give a ticket to someone I don’t know and I might give a ticket to someone I know, you just have to make the best decision based on the situation.”

Haddad told The Arab American News that he is prepping the police force for the winter season and warns residents about recent changes made to the Snow Emergency ordinance.

Last year, the department issued more than 5,000 citations during snow emergencies when residents failed to move their vehicles off the streets in order for plow trucks to navigate their way through.

A new ordinance approved last month hiked the price of a snow emergency ticket to an $80 flat rate, compared to previous years when residents received a $40 discount if paid within three days. 

The city also introduced a pilot program in the east and south-end neighborhoods allocating parking space to residents during snow emergencies

 “Our first goal is to make sure that citizens understand what the new policy will bring,” Haddad said. “I would suggest that citizens don’t wait until the big snow hits to try to figure out where to move their car. They should make plans from now, because the snow will be coming this season.” 

Haddad also warns residents of larceny from automobiles, a crime trend in the city that has seen an up-tick in recent years. Auto theft is very common during winter months, when residents warm up their vehicles and leave their cars unattended. 

“People leave their cars unlocked and people go in and take items of value, like computers and money,” Haddad said. “No matter how much we keep warning people on Nixle and hold crime prevention meetings, they continue to leave items of value in the car. When someone tries several cars on the block and they succeed, it only encourages them to come back.” 

To sign up for Nixle, the department’s text message alert system, residents can go to www.nixle.com or text 48126 to 888-777.