07-05-2025
Dearborn Heights police officers file lawsuit, alleges sexual misconduct by former sergeant
Two Dearborn Heights police officers are suing the police department and a former sergeant for alleged sexual misconduct.
Marko Law, which is representing the officers, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming that the former sergeant demanded sexually explicit photos and to engage in sexual interactions. The former sergeant is also accused of sending pictures through social media and harassing several other young officers.
"Every employer is responsible for ensuring a safe workplace and for preventing employees—including those in supervisory roles like sergeants—from causing harm to others. The Dearborn Heights Police Department failed in this duty by not protecting our clients from sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination carried out by one of its sergeants," said Attorney Jonathan Marko in a statement. "The Dearborn Heights Department did nothing to shield them from the daily humiliation and embarrassment they did and continue to endure."
The Dearborn Heights Police Department said on Tuesday that it became aware of the allegations on April 9, 2025. The department confirmed that the sergeant has not been employed with them since 2023. The department said the incidents happened before Police Chief Ahmed Haidar took on the role in 2025 and has asked Michigan State Police to investigate the allegations.
"Police Chief Ahmed Haidar said the police department will fully cooperate with this investigation and does not condone any acts of sexual assault, harassment, and/or behaviors negatively effecting members of this department or citizens," the department said in a news release.
According to the lawsuit, the former sergeant allegedly texted one of the officers in 2021 and 2022 and demanded photos. The sergeant allegedly assaulted the officer and coerced him to perform sex acts in his office on multiple occasions.
The lawsuit alleges that between 2017 and 2018, the former sergeant harassed the officer and threatened him and his job to keep him from saying anything. The lawsuit claims that the officer reported the harassment in 2023 to his superiors, but they refused to investigate the alleged misconduct. The former sergeant allegedly falsified reports against the officer, resulting in the officer's Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards being suspended, according to the lawsuit. The officer was later suspended to the former sergeant's allegations, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit alleges that the officers faced retaliation and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and humiliation, even after the former sergeant left the department.
