Demolition worker accused of calling city workers N-word.
A prominent company within the Detroit Land Bank Authority demolition programme that is already under investigation is facing new scrutiny after one of its workers allegedly called two black Detroit Building Authority employees the N-word and physically threatened one of them at a job site earlier this month.
The incident has been condemned by members of the Detroit City Council, as well as city leadership, which said this type of behaviour has “no place in our city or on any city work site.” The Detroit Police Department has launched an investigation.
The company, Warren-based Den-Man Contractors, has also decried the incident, saying it “takes these incidents very seriously” and that the employee no longer works at the company.
But the company’s apology may not be enough of a response. City Council members say they’re looking into the incident, with one top leader declaring she’ll vote against future contracts for the company for the time being.
Thomas Fett, the DBA’s assistant director of Field Operations, wrote in a Sept. 17 report obtained by the Free Press, that field supervisor Robert Hewitt was on site monitoring a demolition being performed at 17870 Bradford by Den-Man Contractors, along with field liaisons Robert Hill and Jalen Griglen, Sept. 14 when the incident occurred.
“In my opinion, this incident is not acceptable and is totally reprehensible,” Fett wrote.
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