Wayne County sheriff's deputies may soon replace Detroit police officers to help keep city buses safe.
A week after Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings announced 150 layoffs as part of a major reorganization, the city is working on a contract with Wayne County sheriff's deputies to patrol Detroit Department of Transportation buses. Detroit police officers assigned to the buses were notified Wednesday that their unit was disbanded.
Police say the city's budget crunch is preventing the department from continuing the service, but union representatives wonder why the city is handing over a $4 million contract that provides between 25 and 45 police jobs when the contract is fully paid through federal dollars.
"These are jobs that don't cost the city any money," said Detroit Police Officer Association President Marty Bandemer. The police union is expected to file an injunction today to try to stop the layoffs.
James Gawlowski, president of the Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association, said he wasn't aware of the move. His union is negotiating an agreement with the city to move higher-ranking officers out of the office and onto the streets.
"We're going to make an inquiry, that's for sure. When we talked, it was still fluid, nothing was concrete. Some units were to be eliminated, some diminished with manpower," Gawlowski said.
For the last five years, DDOT had an agreement with the Police Department for plainclothes officers to ride buses, investigate crime on buses or at bus stops, monitor for loiterers and make sure people pay their bus fares.
The unit provides a monthly report -- including the number of arrests and investigations -- to DDOT. The unit's salary and benefits are paid by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration, a grant renewed every year.
But the Police Department says it can no longer provide the service. The change is just one of many as the 3,500-member police department reduces responsibilities, including the aviation and mounted patrol units.
"Manpower is our issue," said police spokesman James Tate. "Our priority is patrol -- putting more officers on the street -- and there's another entity that can patrol buses."
John Roach of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department says the county is trying to accommodate the city's request.
The Detroit Police Department was mandated to cut $54 million out of its $434 million budget this year as part of the city's effort to avoid another deficit. The mayor is asking other city departments to absorb the other $34 million in cuts.
Tate said it wasn't surprising that DDOT decided to go with the sheriff's office because deputies also have jurisdiction in Detroit. Mayoral spokesman James Canning said the city is still working out details of the agreement and declined to elaborate.
Once DDOT works out a contract with the sheriff's office, the City Council will review the deal. Council President Maryann Mahaffey questioned why the money couldn't be kept within the city.
"If there's money to contract, the money ought to be used to hire our people," Mahaffey said.