DEARBORN — The investigation of a violent altercation involving a 61-year-old Muslim man and two White men at a local Kroger earlier this month is of growing concern to residents and local civil rights groups.

The incident at the Kroger on Michigan Ave. and Greenfield took place just three days after the murders of three Muslim students in North Carolina and alarmed the local Muslim community. 

The Muslim man was shopping with his children on Thursday, February 12 at around 5:55 p.m., when the family crossed paths with two men from Taylor. 

According to witnesses, the two parties exchanged some heated words before the confrontation quickly turned physical. The two White men allegedly made derogatory comments to the family, including “go back to your county”; called them “terrorists” and linked them to ISIS. 

The Muslim man’s daughter, who wore a headscarf, was allegedly told to “take the rag off her head.”

The violent scene was disrupted by Kroger employees and bystanders, who notified the police, but the two men had fled the scene before authorities arrived. 

After details began to emerge from eyewitness accounts, residents and civil rights groups placed pressure on local and federal authorities to investigate whether the assault should be classified as a federal hate crime.  

In the days following the investigation, Mayor Jack O’Reilly told media outlets that the Muslim man was overheard speaking Arabic to his children, which may have triggered the assault. According to the city, the two White men sustained greater injuries than the Muslim man during the confrontation.

In a press release issued by the city on Friday, Feb. 20, the incident was described as an “alleged assault” that didn’t meet the classification of a hate crime for federal prosecution.

“All of the facts have been presented to our law enforcement partners at the federal level and it has been determined that the elements of a hate crime for federal prosecution have not been met in this case,” the press release stated. 

The statement added that not enough evidence was compiled to determine whether “abusive language” was used during the altercation.

 “Although ‘abusive language’ may have been exchanged as the altercation progressed, we have no credible statements or evidence, including the limited video available, to substantiate the claim that the altercation occurred due to the religion, race or ethnicity of any of the combatants,” the statement said. 

Throughout the week, there were also conflicting reports as to whether the investigation had been completed before the city issued the press release. Several citizens told The Arab American News that they placed calls to the city this week and were told the investigation had still not been completed. 

Lieutenant Doug Topolski of the Dearborn Police Department told The Arab American News on Thursday, Feb. 26 that the investigation was officially handed over to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office “one to two days ago” to review whether the case could meet Michigan’s statute under “ethnic intimidation.” 

Topolski said that the investigation had not fully been closed when the city issued the press release on Friday, February 20. 

He said the police department collaborated with the FBI from early on in the investigation.

“The FBI was presented with the facts and they determined that it wasn’t ethnic intimidation,” Topolski said. 

A second investigator at the police department told The Arab American News that insinuating the city alone made the determination that the incident wouldn’t be classified as a hate crime would be a “misstatement.”

Topolski added that due to conflicting statements from witnesses, the investigation wasn’t able to determine who initiated the fight. He estimates that five to 10 witnesses were interviewed during the course of the investigation. 

“Everything was put together for the prosecutor and Wayne County will decide on it,” Topolski said. “They also have the option to ask us for more information. Our detectives did a comprehensive investigation.” 

Kathy McMillan Bazzi, who was shopping at the Kroger during the altercation, said the two Taylor men were the aggressors in the assault and that she overheard them making derogatory comments to the Dearborn family. She was interviewed by detectives in the days following the incident, but said she was told she may have to take a lie detector test to validate her claims.

When asked why the men from Taylor weren’t charged with a lighter offense, Topolski said the injuries sustained in the altercation didn’t warrant any charges. 

“The injuries sustained didn’t even come close to an aggravated assault,” Topolski said. “It may be an assault and battery [charge] and we decided that maybe Wayne County should make that determination.”

Peter J. Hammer, a professor of law and director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School, said he was concerned that the city’s press release last week was a little too premature. 

“My first impression was that we didn’t have enough information to be making a number of conclusions,” Hammer said. “I have concerns we are rushing to legal conclusions without having done an adequate investigation.”

Hammer noted that judging by the witness testimonies and comments made by the city, it is very likely that the confrontation could have commenced due to  issues of religion, national origin or ethnicity.

“It seems incontrovertible that it was animosity towards the Arab and Muslim community,” Hammer added. “The laws are broadly designed to make sure people aren’t targeted on their race, national origin or ethnicity. This kind of incident warrants a very careful investigation. There’s no doubt in my mind that if this individual was not an Arab American, the young people would’ve gone about shopping, doing their business and none of us would be talking about this right now.”

Concerns and confusion continue to cast a cloud over the investigation. Three mosques in Dearborn have initiated committees that place daily calls and emails to Mayor O’Reilly and Police Chief Ron Haddad. Their efforts have been meant to express the concern for how and why the police have not charged anyone with a crime, according to the coordinators.

Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations Michigan office (CAIR-MI), told The Arab American News that investigators should release a video to the public in order to justify their positioning. 

Walid said he finds it puzzling that the two men were not charged with ethnic intimidation after the mayor said the incident may have started because the Muslim man was overheard speaking Arabic.

“If indeed those two men approached him because he was speaking Arabic to his children and the confrontation led to an assault, then I don’t see why these individuals would not be charged with ethnic intimidation under the Michigan statue,” Walid said. “Dearborn police should release the video to the community to see if the incident is indeed not a hate crime.”

Outrage over the city’s press release was heavily visible on social media. While most commentators expressed concerns over why the incident wouldn’t be classified as a hate crime, others pointed out that its also concerning that the two White men weren’t booked on a lesser offense such as aggravated assault. 

Walid questioned whether the incident would be classified as a hate crime under different circumstances. He said that had the aggressors been two Muslim men, they would’ve most likely been arrested and charged.

“I will put it this way, had two Arab men approached a Jewish American in that Kroger who was speaking Hebrew to his children, I’d have absolutely no doubt that those two Arab American men would be charged,” Walid said.

Despite Kroger having been thrown into the national spotlight following the altercation, the Cincinnati-based corporation has yet to release an official statement or even acknowledge that the incident occurred. Multiple phone calls and emails sent by The Arab American News were not returned. 

Dearborn’s press release did note that its review of the investigation found that Kroger employees acted in a proper and timely manner following the incident. Still, local organizations and residents feel unsettled that the company has yet to respond to the incident, considering there are several questions that still need to be answered.

“Kroger should have at least released a statement, if they aren’t going to release a video,” Walid said. “Kroger’s stance shows a disrespect to the community. If I lived in that area, I would not feel comfortable going to that Kroger store at all.”

Fatina Abdrabboh, the ADC-MI director, also raised a number of concerns about the incident and the aftermath involving the investigation. She said Kroger will eventually need to address several issues pertaining to the safety of its customers and protocol of its employees. 

“We look forward to dialogue with the Kroger corporation to understand and ensure their position on consumer and community safety,” Abdrabboh said.