Romulus Police Chief Resigns In Letter To Mayor

ROMULUS (WWJ/AP) - The police chief in Romulus has resigned, saying he had "no choice" but to do so when the mayor refused to do the same.

Romulus police Chief Robert Dickerson announced his resignation on Friday, in a letter to Mayor Alan Lambert.

This comes just days after Michigan State Police raided Lambert's home as part of a public corruption investigation.

The letter, obtained by WWJ Newsradio 950, reads, in part:

"Your serious lapses in judgment, whether legal or illegal, which were ultimately followed up by the embarrassing police raid of your residence has led me to believe that you can no longer capably meet the "higher standards" mandate as described above.

To put it simple Mayor, hypothetically, if one of my police officers or firefighters showed the same lapses in judgments that you did and brought the same type of shame, mistrust, and embarrassment on the community, I assure you, that under my leadership they would not be working for us today. In my mind, there cannot be a double standard just because you are the Mayor.

In closing, I'm hopeful that sooner, rather than later, that you would consider doing the honorable thing for the community and resign from office, and allow the city to move forward without the "circus like atmosphere" that your personal decisions and legal situation has created."

WWJ Newsradio 950's John Hewitt spoke Friday with Romulus City Councilman Leroy Bercroff.

"I don't know what he's done or not done, but [it's] a difficult time for our city, and I pray for his family and for him -- and I pray that we'll get our city back on track in a positive way," said Bercroff.

"I speak for myself -- I put my city first. And I think, unfortunately  right now we have a situation that ... like I said, a lot of people are getting hurt," he said.

The Romulus Police Department drew media attention in 2011 when a former police chief and five detectives were arrested on accusations they used drug forfeiture money to pay for prostitutes, alcohol and marijuana.

State police say the latest investigation is not connected to the 2011 scandal.

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