DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mayor Bill Bazzi and Police Chief Jerrod Hart are voicing frustrations over “incorrect” and “misleading” information published recently in a local newspaper.

The article was originally headlined “Dearborn Heights Police Chief (Jerrod) Hart on leave, unlikely to return”, which was later changed by the writer in a follow-up article confirming that the chief does not have plans on leaving the city or his role.

The information published was based on information reportedly leaked to the writer by an unnamed Council member following a closed session — a violation of both the City Charter and the Open Meetings Act.

“I’m not sure what you call it, but this is certainly not responsible journalism,” Bazzi said in a press release. “The way in which this article was written was certainly misleading and frankly, unprofessionally done. Chief Hart took a few days off to spend with his family. Per police department procedures, he notified me in writing of his upcoming absence. Per department procedures, he also appointed Operations Director Kevin Swope as the acting chief during his absence. He was gone for a few days, he enjoyed his time off and now he’s back in his position, serving the community.”

Bazzi also said that Hart is committed and plans to stay.

“He (Hart) has assured me he is committed to continuing his mission of leading the transformation of the Dearborn Heights Police Department into a truly world-class organization,” he said. “Chief Hart is a highly-educated, highly respected and effective leader, and a welcome and respected part of the Dearborn Heights family of public servants. I am fully confident he, his leadership staff and those officers who are also committed to serving our community so professionally are the right people for the job.”

Both Bazzi and Hart expressed frustration and concern over the “continued false and malicious interference” that come from a group of individuals, they say, are “continuously impede the forward momentum of both the police department and the city in general.”

Since joining the department in 2022, Hart has worked to make several operational improvements aimed at focusing on internal and external customer service excellence. This includes the adoption of the emergency alert system and the recent Organizational Assessment Initiative that he forged with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to help bring the department up-to-date by reaching out to the DOJ for assistance through the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative (CRI) for long-term (cost-free) assessment of the department’s operations and helping develop a comprehensive Strategic Plan while recommending and implementing management and operational changes throughout the course of the assessment. 

The initiative is facilitated by a group of seven DOJ subject matter experts who will make regularly-scheduled visits to the department.

“Equally important is our need to correct the rumors that the DOJ came to us through mandatory disciplinary effort due to internal problems in our department,” Bazzi said. “Chief Hart made the outreach to the DOJ to request its assistance as a resource to help improve our department’s operations.”

The progress of the DOJ initiative can be monitored through its website.

“I am absolutely confident that under Chief Hart’s leadership, our police department is making great strides toward the improvement of all factors of its operations — including a greatly improved public image by the majority of our residents,” Bazzi said. “Long gone is the cronyism, bullying, lack of transparency and lack of respect toward our residents, business owners and visitors to our community many experienced in the past.”