EASTPOINTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — The state agency that licenses police officers in Michigan is investigating the circumstances that allowed a Detroit police officer facing termination to accept a new job with Eastpointe police.
“We are concerned,” said Tim Bourgeois, the executive director of the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), who learned of the hiring through a 7 Action News investigation.
“We have received information that indicates that perhaps the separation was not in good standing. We don’t know that for sure yet, and so we’ll investigate that," he said.
RELATED: A Detroit cop faced firing for Greektown punch—until Eastpointe gave him a badge
Officer Kairy Roberts faced termination in Detroit after punching out Marcus Alston in Greektown in the summer of 2021.
A Detroit Police Department internal investigation found that Roberts struck Alston “without justification,” that he failed to render aid after knocking him out and that he was not truthful with investigators.
But before Detroit police got a chance to fire Roberts, Eastpointe police hired him in September.
Eastpointe Public Safety Department Director George Rouhib said his department did nothing wrong in hiring the officer and insists the department’s background check was thorough.
Rouhib said he knew Wayne County’s prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges against Roberts but admitted he was not aware of a series of internal charges lodged against him.
He also said he never even saw the video of Roberts punching Alston until a copy was provided to him by 7 Action News.
Roberts’ hiring was a point of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Eastpointe City Council.
“We should not have to learn about this on the news! We should have been told about this,” Karen Mouradjian, an Eastpointe resident, said. “Anyone who is not a police officer, if they punched somebody out like that? Knocked them unconscious? They would be charged with battery.”
Cardi DeMonaco, a city council member in Eastpointe for the last eight years, says the city’s public safety director needs to be transparent about what the department knew of Roberts’ history at DPD and why they decided to give him a badge.
“I would have not hired this officer knowing all this,” DeMenaco said.
When an officer leaves a police department in Michigan, their license is deactivated. Before another agency can hire that officer, they need to demonstrate that they meet the state's character and fitness standards.
But already, there are signs that both departments involved may have made errors along the way.
Sources confirm that Detroit police did not report to the state that Roberts left their department until Oct. 10, weeks after his Sept. 16 resignation and hiring in Eastpointe on Sept. 26.
When DPD finally did, the department listed his license as in “good standing,” even though it should have said he resigned while under investigation.
As for Eastpointe, their public safety director previously told 7 Action News that he was not aware of departmental charges had been filed against Roberts, even though a background check should have revealed that he was facing discipline while under investigation.
Roberts remains an officer with Eastpointe. Calls to Mayor Monique Owens and City Manager Mariah Walton have not been returned.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.
