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Dearborn Heights council approves outside counsel as policing leadership dispute unfolds
Summary
The city council voted to retain outside legal counsel for Interim Police Chief Hussain Farhat after weeks of public comment, union appeals and an email the council read into the record alleging internal misconduct and retaliation. Council also suspended the rules and added a late agenda item to authorize the counsel.
The Dearborn Heights City Council voted Jan. 28 to retain special legal counsel to represent interim Police Chief Hussain Farhat in matters related to an investigation by the city administration.
The action followed an extended public-comment period in which current and former officers, union leaders and residents accused city administration of missteps in police promotions and discipline. At the meeting, a council member read a multi-page email submitted for the record alleging harassment and retaliation tied to internal police investigations.
The move to add an item to the agenda and to authorize outside counsel passed after a heated public discussion and a motion by Councilman Hassan Saab. Corporation counsel and special counsel advised the council that a limited-scope designation was legally permissible: the city may fund counsel only to advise on official-duty matters and not for private claims against the city.
Union leaders and supervisors urged the council to back Farhat. Nick Sapp, identified at the meeting as president of the police supervisors union, told the council Farhat “was an extremely positive influence in our department” and argued the mayor’s actions had worsened morale.
Farhat told the council he had been notified by email that he was under investigation. “I received an email that I was under investigation by the mayor,” he said during public comment and later on the dais.
Council members debated scope and limits; legal advisers recommended explicit language that barred use of city funds for private litigation by the officer. The council approved the retention, directing the counsel’s scope to representation related to Farhat’s official duties and specifying a cap on hourly rates and that council must approve expenditures.
The authorization does not resolve the underlying personnel or investigatory questions. Multiple speakers urged transparency on the administration’s investigatory steps and flagged other personnel and contract decisions for council review. Council members said the special-counsel step was necessary to ensure a neutral legal review while protecting the city’s legal exposure.
Council and administration officials also exchanged procedural objections at the meeting about the mayor’s authority over personnel decisions and salary-setting. Corporation counsel advised that some compensation and appointment questions may be governed by the city charter and existing contract rules, and that further legal review could be required.
The council’s vote to authorize special counsel concluded a session in which dozens of residents and police personnel spoke. Council members said they would follow up with requests for records and legal memos to clarify the city’s options moving forward.
