DEARBORN HTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Dearborn Heights Police Department is unveiling a new officer-designed police patch that will be the first one in the country to feature Arabic.
Police confirmed to FOX 2 on Wednesday that the department has a new optional patch that officers can wear as part of their uniform.
The patch includes the Michigan seal in the center with the words ‘Dearborn Heights Police’ written in both English and Arabic.
According to police, the patch was created by Officer Ermily Murdoc, who designed it to reflect and honor the diversity of our community.
Dearborn Heights' Middle Eastern or North African population was 39% as of 2023. Neighboring Dearborn has a population of roughly 55%.
What they're saying:
"We are proud of Officer Murdoch's creativity and dedication in helping our department better represent the people we serve," the department wrote on Facebook. "Our officers proudly serve all members of our community, and this new design is another way we continue to celebrate the rich cultures that make our city unique."
The police department disabled comments on the Facebook post for the public.
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DEARBORN HTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A little more than two days since the
Dearborn Heights Police Department
posted a photo of a police patch featuring Arabic script, the city's mayor says the patch was only an idea and should never have been presented as official.
Police confirmed to FOX 2 on Wednesday that the department had a new optional patch that officers can wear as part of their uniform. The patch read ‘Dearborn Heights Police’ in both English and Arabic and would have been the first in the United States to feature Arabic script.
Dearborn Heights' Middle Eastern or North African population was 39% as of 2023. Neighboring Dearborn has a population of roughly 55%.
Mayor Bill Bazzi, recently appointed by President Donald Trump as the US
Ambassador to Tunisia, released a statement on the police department's Facebook page on Friday. In the statement, Bazzi said the patch effort was for internal discussion within the department but ‘was not put forth for consensus of further review’.
The original post, which said the patch was optional, has been removed from Facebook.
What they're saying:
"Should efforts like this be formally undertaken to make any changes to the Police uniform, it is our goal to include multiple PD stakeholders for a larger conversation, to ensure all are included in the discussion. As we are one PD, each individual’s uniform represents the DHPD as a whole, and therefore merits the review and input of all," Bazzi in the statement.
The statement went on to say that the patch addition remains an idea and ‘should NOT have been presented as an official prototype’.
Bazzi said he was proud of the chief and officers efforts in the community.
The backstory:
In the original Facebook post, the department provided background that the patch was designed by an officer to ‘reflect and honor the diversity of our community’.
"We are proud of Officer Murdoch's creativity and dedication in helping our department better represent the people we serve," the department wrote on Facebook. "Our officers proudly serve all members of our community, and this new design is another way we continue to celebrate the rich cultures that make our city unique."
Dearborn Heights Police had disabled comments on Facebook of the original post. Similarly, the department is limiting who can comment on the current post.
