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| Chief of Police Jeff Jedrusik |
The 25-year-old videotapes show Jedrusik requesting offenders to perform particular tasks such as such as break dancing, performing a headstand or singing Yankee Doodle Dandy to avoid arrest. The videotapes were referred to the office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy after being investigated by Michigan State Police. Worthy declined to prosecute based on 25-year-old videotapes, according to a statement from her office.
Deputy Chief of Police Kyle Dawley has been named as interim police chief according to Mayor Michael Londeau, who had been aware of the videotapes since February.
The situation, Londeau said, was immediately referred to the city attorney for an opinion. The tapes were apparently edited and released by Jedrusik's former wife and the city attorney found no basis for criminal charges. Londeau said he was initially hesitant to interfere in any employee's personal life.When the publicity surrounding the issue became a deterrent to conducting city business and the issue became political, Londeau said Jedrusik's decision to step down was in the best interest of the city.
Jedrusik said that he was a young officer at the time and while he did not recall his exact involvement in the incidents depicted, he was embarrassed by his behavior. “I would never act that way today and I would not expect my officers to act that way,” Jedrusik said in a prepared statement.
Jedrusik, 50, has been with the Westland Police Department for more than 25 years. He is currently collecting partial retirement benefits as part of a 2020 agreement with the city. His tenure with the department was scheduled to end in 2025 after he had trained a replacement.
The issue has now become the topic of political rhetoric with State Rep. Kevin Coleman, D-Westland, commenting on the issue on his personal and official Facebook pages. Coleman characterized the delay in Jedrusik's resignation as a failure of Londeau's administration. Both Coleman and Londeau, along with at least four others, have declared their candidacy for the mayor's office. Coleman failed in his first attempt at election to the seat, losing to former Mayor William Wild in 2017. He then went on to seek his current term in the state Legislature.
In his prepared statement regarding the situation, Jedrusik said he notified both the deputy mayor and city attorney in February when he became aware of the videos which he said were edited and released by his ex-wife. He said that he and his former spouse are currently involved in ongoing civil litigation and post-divorce matters. “I realize the motive was to embarrass me,” he said.
The videotapes appear to include encounters by uniformed officers other than Jedrusik. In one instance an apparently intoxicated man is told to stand on his head or he is going to jail. The man replies that he has suffered a closed-head injury and is unable to comply. The officer then asks the man if he can spin on his head “like break dancing.” The man is eventually placed in a police vehicle when he cannot comply with the officer's request. While in the vehicle, the man is told to sing the officer a song or tell him a joke and he will be taken home.
In another recorded incident, a man who appears to be intoxicated, is told he can go home after he moves a large boulder. Another taped segment shows an obviously intoxicated woman attempting to clean herself after she has lowered her pants to relieve herself.
“I apologize to the citizens of Westland, the individuals on the videos and the department for my actions. However, due to the civil litigation, I am not able to comment further,” Jedrusik's prepared statement concluded.
