Mayor O’Reilly (R) and Police Chief Haddad (L) welcoming new police recruits

DEARBORN — “Scathing” is an understatement to describe the Dearborn Police survey that made headlines two weeks ago. The study, obtained by The Arab American News, revealed widespread and profound discontent in the department. The disgruntled officers piled disparaging remarks on their chief, Ronald Haddad.

On a 1 to 10 scale, 109 out the 124 cops who responded to the questionnaire anonymously said morale was three or below.

Morale is so low that “it cannot be expressed numerically,” one officer wrote.

The respondents detailed their criticism, which was almost fully directed at Haddad. They complained about hiring policies, dysfunctional equipment, unsupportive leadership and lack of ability to patrol the neighborhoods.

The officers’ responses also showed an old-guard culture on the force. Haddad was appointed in 2009, but many respondents referred to him as “the new chief.”

At a time when the militarization of police departments is being questioned nationally, Dearborn cops bemoaned that not all patrol cars have rifles.

An officer said the department should be armed and prepared for a doomsday scenario.

“Keep Dearborn Clean and Safe,” wrote a cop in the survey, echoing the motto of notorious segregationist Mayor Orville Hubbard, who commanded City Hall from 1942 to 1978. The motto was widely understood to mean “Keep Dearborn White.”

It remains unclear who exactly authorized and leaked the survey. Two sources pointed to the Police Union last week, but a Dearborn representative in the Police Officers Association of Michigan denied the union’s involvement in the study. 

“Fire the chief”

Asked what they would change about the department, dozens of officers called for the chief’s termination.

“A new chief”; “I would fire the chief”; “Fire Chief Haddad”; “I would immediately terminate Chief Haddad”; “Fire the Chief and remove his appointees,” were some of the answers.

One cop said Haddad “single handedly” destroyed the force’s reputation and morale.

Many officers had a problem with the fact that Haddad worked in Detroit before being hired by Dearborn. One respondent suggested firing Haddad and his aides and disqualifying all applicants with a Detroit connection as their replacements.

Some respondents went on a tirade of personal insults against the chief. One cop called him a “self-promoting egomaniac”, while another described his tenure as “tyrannical.”

“Unsupportive”

The Dearborn Police Department has been under a lens of scrutiny after two fatal shootings of unarmed African Americans by officers in December of 2015 and January of this year.

Cops said they feel that Haddad did not fully back the officers involved in the shootings, which are still under investigation.

After Kevin Mathew, who was mentally challenged, was shot to death by a Dearborn cop in Detroit, Haddad did not mind the apprehension of the officer, according to one respondent.

“Are you aware that Chief Haddad was endorsing our officer being arrested, taken down to Detroit PD Homicide Division, interviewed and then possibly released on bond?” the respondent asked.

Another cop said there were no words of encouragement from the chief after the fallout caused by the incidents.

Black Lives Matter activists organized peaceful protests in front of the police department after the shootings. One respondent said the leadership did not do enough to “identify and handle” the protesters.

“We’ve recently had military style protesters arrive at our doorsteps and that lack of leadership from the administration was absolutely disgusting,” the officer wrote.

Operation Blue Light

Most officers raised concerns about the leadership’s emphasis on ticketing. They said they would rather patrol the neighborhoods to prevent crime.

The chief has turned the department into a “revenue generating production facility,” one officer commented.

Another cop added that statistics-driven standards of success put pressure on officers to write out tickets.

“The chief is so focused on traffic enforcement and ticket counts that officers are constantly on the main streets looking for traffic infractions,” wrote one respondent. “This may seem like a good idea, but the citizens of the city have noticed an increase in vehicle theft, larcenies of personal property from vehicles or of tires and rims. This has impacted the quality of life for the citizens of Dearborn.”

Operation Blue Light, a police initiative to apparently crack down on crime and violations, was a recurring subjects of criticism in the survey.

The Arab American News reported in 2014 that Operation Blue Light is a collaborative effort between 10 local law enforcement agencies to nab suspects across city lines.

But that’s not how Dearborn cops described it. They said it was a program designed to give traffic citations.

The 15-day initiative coincided twice with the Christmas season. Some officers found the timing discriminatory.

Fox News falsely reported last year that Haddad, a Christian Lebanese American, is Muslim. Ironically, some of his own officers think he is biased against Christians.

“I feel (Operation Blue Light) discriminates against Christmas because 2 out of 4 have been conducted during Christmas
season,” a cop wrote.

He also called the initiative appalling.

“Quit having traffic ‘Blue Light’ enforcement during Christian Holidays, but we should be more liberal during Muslim Holidays,” urged a respondent.

A third officer said while other police departments hand out gifts for Christmas, Dearborn hands out tickets.

“Once a proud department, the police force has been reduced to a traffic unit that does not care about the neighborhoods or its residents,” one respondent remarked.

Hiring practices

Several critics slammed the chief for his hiring practices, saying he is bringing into the department unqualified recruits who “fit his agenda.”

Four Arab American officers, recruited by Haddad, have quit the Dearborn force since last year. Two of them told The Arab American News they were harassed by colleagues and superiors because of their ethnicity.

A respondent claimed in the survey that cops are embarrassed and endangered by new hires.

“The chief seems obsessed with politics,” one cop wrote. He then went on to lambaste recruits chosen by Haddad, saying one of them does not write in complete sentences.

Cops accused Haddad of hiring personnel who failed the required background checks.

They complained about older recruits who are not physically fit.

The chief’s recruitment policies are a common theme in the survey. The term “agenda” is mentioned several times in that context. The respondents do not elaborate on what the chief’s supposed agenda is.

Haddad had vowed to hire more Arab officers to mirror the city’s demographics.

“As long as they qualify, we definitely want people from the community,” Haddad told The AANews in December 2014. “We are trying to make sure the department reflects the community we serve.”

A respondent to the survey accused Haddad of lowering the department’s standards in order to increase diversity on the force. That officer did acknowledge the value of diversity, but not at the expense of qualifications.

“Antiquated equipment”

Officers said their radio systems are “outdated and ineffective.” They also bemoaned the absence of bullet proof glass at the department’s front counter.

“The radio system in use by the police department today is dysfunctional with antiquated technology,” one officer wrote.

Another one added that there are known areas in the city where the radios cannot transmit messages, which puts cops’ lives in jeopardy.

“The lack of equipment, i.e. radios that work, patrol rifles and Tasers needs to be addressed,” a respondent commented.

The cops also complained about their inability to liberally use Tasers.

“Officers are overly scrutinized and disciplined when it’s used,” according to one respondent.

Haddad did not return The AANews’ request for comment by press time.

Last week, Mayor Jack O’Reilly dismissed the findings of the survey as unscientific and politically motivated.