Hamtramck Star

As most readers probably know, the city manager recently appointed Lt. Ron Mathias as our interim police chief. There are a few things that I've been keeping to myself while working to improve police and citizen relationships, but I've decided that it's time to put it all out on the table.

I first heard Ron Mathias' name in December of 2005. We were looking into an allegation that a Hamtramck detective crashed a city car while drunk driving in Detroit and the subsequent cover-up. The highest ranking supervisor called in that night: #98, Ron Mathias. The detective was driven home and got off without so much as a reprimand, let alone prosecution for his third drunk-driving incident that I'm aware of.

Follow up:

I believe the first time I actually saw Lt. Mathias was at the trial of Ron Dupuis. Mathias was the acting supervisor on the day that the supposed incident occurred. It was his own sworn testimony that he did not arrest Dupuis, take his statement, or enter the taser into evidence, as should have been done if the incident actually had occurred. Though some people still repeat the false claim that Dupuis stunned his partner with a taser, the evidence proved otherwise, and he was acquitted by a jury.

Later in 2006, I became the chair of a community policing committee and was working to establish neighborhood watches in the city, a proven method of reducing crime. At the time, The Citizen was printing some information about crime, but I had heard that the vast majority of incidents were not reported by the paper. Neighborhood watch groups around the country use police log books to learn about criminal activity and who the police are looking for. The Citizen obtained information directly from the log book, and so I went to the station to see about using the same information for our neighborhood watch. When I went to the station, Mathias was working the desk and refused to show it to me. I called another police officer who served on a committee with me, and he came down to show me the book. While I was standing at the front desk, looking through the worst kept log book I've ever seen, Mathias and two other officers were talking behind the glass about "trumping up charges" on someone in the lock-up. Sadly, I'd heard this same phrase before.

When I asked to see the book a week later, I was informed that it had been eliminated to prevent me from accessing it. When community groups asked who we should talk to about getting the information we needed, we were directed to speak with Lt. Mathias. We had a meeting with him, but it didn't make any difference.

As our neighborhood watch began meeting regularly and calling the police about suspicious activity, I received multiple complaints from people who no longer bothered to call 911 after being treated rudely by the operator. Others complained that the officer behind the desk was eating when they went to file a report, and that this slovenly officer wasn't wearing a uniform. I'm sure you can guess who they were talking about.

While Mathias is working the desk, it is his policy that officers only respond to calls. Officers are dissuaded from patrolling for crime, presumably because of the paperwork. It is not uncommon to hear him on the radio reprimanding them for making traffic stops. "Proactive policing" is frowned upon.

Another complaint that I hear frequently from citizens who have dealt with Mathias is that he is a racist. No one knows this better than his coworkers. He has been written up twice for making racist remarks towards other city employees, and at least one other officer failed to file a formal complaint.

There are numerous examples of Mathias' racist remarks, but an incident last summer should have led to his termination. During a training exercise, Mathias was showing officers how to use a newer fingerprinting machine, and a veteran officer, who happens to be black, stated that he didn't have to learn it because he would be retiring in a few years. According to witnesses, Mathias' response was "I don't train dumb niggers anyway". The officer filed an official complaint, and Mathias was suspended. Days later, the Ranking Officers Union not only lobbied to have the suspension reduced, they paid his wages for the period that he was suspended. After Mathias' paid vacation, he was back on the desk, answering the calls of citizens. According to sources, the veteran officer has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city that is currently pending. I personally spoke Mr. Cooper about this in July, and though the incident happened before his hiring, he was already aware of it.

Mathias has even made racist comments in front of the city council. During a special meeting held on February 11 to address the concerns of people angry about the killing of a man on Caniff, Mathias pointed at Councilman Algazali and said that Algazali has "a problem with domestic violence in [his] community". He even repeated the phrase, adding "in my community too", so he apparently knows that his remarks were culturally insensitive. He has not been confronted or disciplined for this remark that I'm aware of.

The latest complaint is in regard to the handling of a much-publicized child abuse case. Mathias was working the desk when Reyna Valentino called the station and confessed to abusing her children. Instead of sending police officers, Mathias sent only an ambulance. When the fire department got there and found a slightly baked child, they called for the police. Patrolmen were dispatched, but not one supervisor or detective was sent to the scene that day. When news of the abuse reached the media in Detroit, Mathias was interviewed in front of City Hall, dressed in a t-shirt and suspenders. (He must have caught some flack for it, as I heard that he's now enforcing the uniform rules he never followed on other officers, including a regulation on facial hair.)

Off all the men and women on our police department, Mathias should be at the very bottom of the list for a promotion. This appointment is a disgrace, and neither the citizens nor members of our police force should have to put up with his abuse.