Detroit demolition worker accused of calling city workers N-word

A prominent company within the Detroit Land Bank Authority  demolition program 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 behavior 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.

Hewitt, according to the report, observed Den-Man machine operator, identified as Tim Sherman, approach Hill while flailing his arms and asking if the man wanted to fight.

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In an email to his superiors and Den-Man company owners on the day of the encounter, Hill wrote that Sherman became “very irrational and unprofessional” and threatened to fight him after he was asked to remove a large tree branch that fell on the property of a woman who lived next door during the demolition.

“I was confused as to what had caused this outburst of profanity and fuming from the mouth as your operator jumped from the excavator and ran towards me swinging his arms asking ‘Do I want to fight,’” Hill wrote. “I responded,'fight about what?' I asked him, ‘Tim, what’s wrong?’ My conversations with Tim earlier this morning were cordial with no issues.”

In a separate account of the incident, Griglen wrote that Sherman refused to remove the branch and said: “F—k you motherf----rs. You don’t know s—t about demolition. You’re just a bunch of pu----s.”

Sherman then went to his truck to leave and was asked if he was OK by another person on site, Hill said. 

“Tim responded, ‘F—k those n-----s,” Hill wrote.

Fett said after he was informed of what happened, he reached out to Den-Man management to discuss what happened.

“I called Dave MacDonald (a member of Den-Man management),” Fett wrote. “Dave advised that he was in the office with (Den-Man) owner, David Holman, discussing what had occurred. I advised him of what I knew … and Dave did not deny my account of the events. I advised Dave that I would be making a recommendation that Tim Sherman not be allowed to work on any City of Detroit or Land Bank-funded demolition going forward.”

Fett was later informed that Sherman had been terminated. Sherman could not be reached by the Free Press for comment.

“I inquired … if Tim Sherman was armed with a handgun at the time of the encounter with Robert Hill,” Fett wrote. “ Dave said that he was. I expressed my concern about demolition contractor’s employees being armed with weapons such as handguns when working on a site.”

Holman apologized to Hill via email for what happened.

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“This behavior cannot be tolerated,” Holman wrote in an email to Hill and Fett. “It is not condoned by myself or representative of the type of business Den-Man Contractors is trying to be. Please accept my apology and know that Tim Sherman is no longer employed at Den-Man. Sorry for any problems this may have caused.”

But in an email to the Free Press Friday, Den-Man Attorney Rebecca Camargo clarified that Sherman resigned before Den-Man could officially terminate him.

"He left the job site and immediately turned in his truck and any other Den-Man property he had in his possession," Camargo said via email. "...We were extremely surprised and disappointed to hear about Tim's actions, as Den-Man takes pride in its racial equality policies and procedures. We do believe this was an isolated incident and have reiterated to all of our employees that professionalism on the job is a priority and this type of behavior is unacceptable."

The company has performed 521 city-funded and federally-funded Detroit Land Bank demolitions, totaling millions of dollars. City officials said the company had a $17,500 contract with the Land Bank to tear down the home.

In the report, Fett has asked his superiors to consider making several changes :

• Tim Sherman be prohibited from working on any City of Detroit or Detroit Land Bank contracted demolition.  
• Health and safety violations be given to any company whose employees or sub-contractors who physically or verbally assaults DBA employees.
• Update DBA policies to prohibit any contractor employee or sub-contractors from carrying weapons at City of Detroit or the Detroit Land Bank demolition sites.
• Fett also requested that details of the incident be forwarded to Office of Procurement and the Detroit Land Bank since the company has done a "substantial amount of work in both programs."

In a statement to the Free Press, DBA Director Tyrone Clifton said the city took immediate action once it learned about the incident.

"We demanded that the contractor terminate this employee, which they informed us they have done," Clifton said. "He will never work on another city demolition project."

Clifton said the incident has also been referred to the city's office of Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity for further review to "determine the propriety of the actions we have taken thus far and whether any additional steps may be necessary."

"The Detroit Police Department is also following up on the report that was made by the DBA employee who was the subject of this unfortunate incident," Clifton said. "We have been following up with our employee, who is doing well and is appreciative of the city's response thus far."

The incident is also being investigated by Detroit's Ombudsman Bruce Simpson, the Free Press has confirmed, who is an independent, government official appointed by the City Council to respond to citizen complaints against city government departments and agencies.

"I am aware of the incident that you are referencing regarding Den-Man and my office did submit a report to City Council regarding the matter," Simpson said. "At this point, I can't comment any further. It is what I would consider an ongoing investigation which I'm not at liberty to speak on."

City Council President Pro Tem Mary Sheffield called the incident appalling and said she will be voting no on future Den-Man contracts that come before council because of "ongoing issues" with the company.

"This incident is extremely disappointing and reprehensible," Sheffield said. "Individuals and businesses that demonstrate such vile behavior are not welcome in Detroit and should not continue to receive business from the City of Detroit."

Council Member Roy McCalister confirmed council is looking into the incident but declined to share more details on what actions may occur.

"Not only is it disgusting but it's disrespectful," McCalister said. "It's also disrespectful to treat a senior citizen that way and someone that's been around for awhile. Just because you have a contract, you feel you can treat and talk to anyone any kind of way? No. It seems like we're (council) going to have to do a more independent investigation ourselves. ... We're going to be looking at some of the issues regarding this."

This isn’t the first time controversy has surrounded Den-Man. 

The Free Press first reported in June that the company was under investigation by Detroit’s Office of Inspector General after its subcontractor illegally dumped several large piles of dirt and materials on a woman’s property in April.

The company lost $3.3 million of work it was set to receive after text messages revealed it was responsible.

The company has denied any wrongdoing but documents obtained by the Free Press indicated a Detroit Police Department investigation found that the company was aware. 

The OIG investigation into the company was launched in mid-May after a number of performance issues prompted the city to refer the matter to the office for investigation. 

Kat Stafford is the Detroit government watchdog reporter for the Free Press, covering city issues and the community. Contact Kat Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.