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CAIR attorney and business owners allege repeated, targeted city responses to complaints against Garden City Collision
Summary
At public comment, counsel for the Council on American‑Islamic Relations and the Yemeni American owners of Garden City Collision said repeated calls and inspections triggered by a neighbor amount to harassment, citing EGLE and a district court dismissal as evidence the complaints found no violations.
An attorney for the Michigan chapter of the Council on American‑Islamic Relations (CAIR‑Michigan) and owners of Garden City Collision used the public‑comment period on Oct. 6 to allege that a neighbor has repeatedly leveraged the city’s police, fire and building code enforcement resources to harass the business and its Yemeni American owners.
Amy Doucoure, CAIR‑Michigan lead staff attorney, told council the owners have faced nearly 100 police responses in about 18 months, mostly over complaints about paint smells. She said state environmental investigators from Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) have investigated more than 30 complaints and found no violations. Doucoure also said nuisance tickets brought earlier were dismissed by a district court judge.
Jirala Aljipalli, one of the business owners, described repeated police visits during customer interactions and said the inspections have frightened customers and cost business. He said building‑department staff at times told contractors they were not recognized as licensed contractors, then changed the assessment, and that building‑department inspectors visited the business unannounced several times.
City officials acknowledged receiving documentation and said staff would review materials Doucoure said were provided late to the city. The chief and city manager were present during the public comment period; Doucoure said she had twice requested a meeting that had not been scheduled. No formal council action was taken during the meeting on the complaint; council members and staff said they would review the materials and the city record.
