Police union says department is understaffed and morale low; union president asks council for resources

Brian Snear, president of the Dearborn Heights Police Officers Association, told the council during public comment that the police department is "severely understaffed, under supported, and too often undervalued," and asked the new administration and council for immediate action.

Snear said the department had 51 patrol officers and 29 supervisors fewer than five years ago and now has 39 patrol officers and 21 supervisors, a decline he described as a roughly 25% reduction that has lowered average experience from about 16 years to eight years. He said staffing shortages force officers to run from call to call without backup and that overtime reductions are not a solution. "Overtime is not a luxury. It is a necessity in a department with this level of shortage," Snear said.

He also criticized the previous administration for alleged promotion delays and disputed practices in bargaining, saying contract talks had been conducted in "bad faith" and that some lieutenants with acting captain duties had been waiting more than five months for promotion.

Council members acknowledged the concerns on the record. The mayor and several council members said they consider public safety a priority and welcomed union input; later in the meeting the police chief announced the department had been awarded a grant to hire nine officers, a development the chief said will be brought to council for approval when funding details are finalized.

Other public commenters echoed the need for a functioning police department and linked staffing to public-safety concerns such as speeding and traffic enforcement.

The council did not adopt new personnel policy in the meeting but recorded the union's claims in the public record and later approved procedural steps related to hiring and pay items elsewhere on the agenda.