DEARBORN HEIGHTS — In a recent news article, an ongoing legal battle between members of the Dearborn Heights Police Department and the city of Dearborn Heights was cited as including “race-based sabotage and harassment.”

The 74-page federal lawsuit filed on Jan. 29 by then-Police Chief Jerrod Hart and Directors Kevin Swope and Paul Vanderplow followed a no confidence and cancelation of salary vote by the City Council, but did not mention racial discrimination.

Hart told The Arab American News that there had been an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint filed in which the three were granted approval to file a lawsuit. However, that filing was not provided to the paper.

The whistleblower lawsuit named Hart, Swope and Vanderplow as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed through their attorneys, Fausone & Grysko, PLC, for violation of their First Amendment right of free speech of public employees, violation of the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, breach of employment contract and declaratory and injunctive relief.

While the article cites an update to their filing having taken place in June, Hart said he is not aware of any movement or updates to the original lawsuit.

Hart also said that despite the hurdles he had to overcome prior to his resignation, he has no ill will.

“It was unprofessional behavior,” he said. “And when the stress caused my heart attack in October, it was certainly a wake up call, but to defund the department was the last straw. I have no ill will towards the community at all. As much as I hate to say it, it’s 100 percent true that some City Council members care more about taking care of their friends than our department. I completely understand wanting an Arab American police chief to have that representation, but there is a process in doing so and now this has ruined three people’s careers.”

Council Chairman Mo Baydoun told The Arab American News that the statements made are false.

“Hart was never forced to resign,” he said. “The police department was never defunded. Hart was never discriminated against because of his race, age, national origin, ethnic origin or other protected status of identity. Nor were Hart or the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city subjected to ‘race-based sabotage and harassment.’ Instead, Hart appears to have voluntarily left the city for reasons that are unrelated to such false allegations of discrimination and unfair treatment.”

Baydoun alleged that Hart was facing a no confidence vote from one of the police unions in the city; however, evidence of this allegation was not provided to this publication.

Hart said that despite any hardships he faced during his tenure with the city, he has nothing but love for the community and he has appreciated the opportunities to learn from the different cultures in Dearborn Heights.

“I plan on staying in touch with many community friends whom I have broken bread with, who have shared their own hand pressed olive oil from their homeland and treated me with dignity and respect,” he said. “This issue with the City Council has not impacted my love and respect for the Arab community. I am truly a better person for experiencing their love.”

Mayor Bill Bazzi could not be reached for comment.