Mike Jaafar with Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon.

DEARBORN — The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office held a promotional ceremony for Mike Jaafar, who was officially appointed to chief of operations following his pervious position as deputy chief.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s office and community members gathered at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center on Monday, October 5, to celebrate the occasion.

Jaafar, who was raised in Dearborn and graduated from Fordson High School, has had an impressive history in law enforcement within the county, dating back to 1994 when he became a Detroit Police officer. 

Jaafar spent 15 years at the Detroit Police Department before moving to the sheriff’s office. 

During his tenure at Wayne County, Jaafar has led initiatives to fight crime, developed community outreach programs and assisted in the hiring of a diverse and qualified force.

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon described Jaafar’s dedication to the office and the community. 

“I’ve known Mike since he was a young police officer in the city of Detroit,” Napoleon said. “I want to make it very clear why he’s being elevated… he’s always been accessible to me and the people in the community. And that’s important in law enforcement. He makes himself available to the entire county, not just the community he was born and raised in. He cares passionately about everyone in this county, and that’s important to me as a sherriff.” 

Jaafar with his wife and five children.

Napoleon noted the significance of Jaafar being an Arab American, stating that the sheriff’s office has long yearned to include qualified people in the force who come from backgrounds across all of Wayne County’s 43 cities and townships.

 “A promotion of this level is truly significant,” Napoleon said. “This is a very diverse county. And we celebrate that diversity. I’ll never apologize for being inclusive and being supportive of all of the people who make up this great county that we live in.”

The community members in attendance at the ceremony included 20th District Court Judge David Turfe, 19th District Court Judge Sam Salamey, Third Circuit Court Judge Charlene Elder, Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad, David Gelios, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit division, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja and Dearborn Heights Mayor Dan Paletko.

A humbled Jaafar thanked his wife, Angela, and their five children, along with his co-workers and community members.

Jaafar discussed his close working relationship with Napoleon, stating that he learned about dedication and discipline through the leadership skills he acquired from the sheriff.

“I am a student of Sheriff Benny Napoleon,” Jaafar said. “He has a line that he taught his young officers… ‘You take care of your people and they’ll take
care of you.’ And that’s exactly what we do.”