DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A hearing
for a police officer suspended for allegedly trying to influence a case was
postponed.
Ed Garcia was put on
administrative leave a few weeks ago, and the department’s investigation is
ongoing. Police Chief Lee Gavin, who on April 4 declined to say why Garcia was
put on leave, was unavailable for comment Thursday about the postponement.
Sources have told the Press
& Guide that Garcia allegedly approached the Wayne County Prosecutor’s
Office about influencing the outcome of a felony drug case involving an acquaintance.
Spokeswoman Maria Miller said
Wednesday the Prosecutor’s Office had no comment.
Each police department in the
county submits warrant requests to the Prosecutor’s Office, which decides if
warrants will be issued and the cases pursued. If the office decides to
prosecute a case, it works with the respective department as the case goes
through the judicial system.
Garcia, 45, works in the patrol
division. Warrant requests generally come from a department’s bureaus like
investigations or traffic.
He was also suspended by the
department in October 2009 for allegedly failing to follow procedures during a
case of suspected child abuse that summer. The Prosecutor’s Office announced in
early 2010 that there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute him.
Garcia was fired in December
2009, but filed a grievance through the Dearborn Heights Police Officers’
Association. An arbitrator ruled he should get his job back with his seniority
and previous pay rate, but without back pay. He returned to the force in November
2010.
According to the arbitrator’s
report, the corporal responded to a call of suspected child abuse in July 2009.
He said he was sent by a dispatcher; the department said he responded on his
own. The arbitrator found that Garcia didn’t tell his superiors he was friends
with the man suspected of child abuse.
Garcia, well known in the
community as “Officer Ed,” joined the department in 1988 and served as a Drug
Abuse Resistance Education officer for 10 years. He also has been a Dearborn
Heights Ski Club chaperone and coached football in the Crestwood School
District.
He is treasurer of the
Crestwood district’s Board of Education. He has served since 2004, when he was
elected as a write-in candidate, and his current term ends in 2016.