Excerpt: An Arabic-English shoulder patch conceived inside the Dearborn Heights Police Department was unveiled on social media and instantly hailed by some outlets as a national “first.” Forty-eight hours later, City Hall said the design was not approved and should never have been presented as official. Here’s what actually happened, what FOX 2 Detroit newly reported, why the idea still matters, and how unverified, rush-to-publish posts poured gasoline on a fixable process mistake.
What happened—facts first
On Wednesday, the Dearborn Heights Police Department (DHPD) posted a digital mock-up of an optional shoulder patch that reads “Dearborn Heights Police” in English and Arabic. The post credited Officer Emily Murdoch with the design to “reflect and honor the diversity of our community.” The graphic was widely shared, comments were eventually limited, and the post was later removed. 1 2
By Friday, Mayor Bill Bazzi issued a statement on the department’s Facebook page clarifying that the patch “remains an idea” and “should NOT have been presented as an official prototype.” He said any uniform change must include “multiple PD stakeholders for a larger conversation,” because each officer’s uniform represents the department as a whole. 3
Local and trade outlets then updated coverage to reflect the correction: no uniform change has been approved, and the concept is paused pending proper review. 4 5 6
“If efforts like this are to be taken up formally, multiple stakeholders within the department must be involved… As we are one PD, each individual’s uniform represents the DHPD as a whole.”
—Mayor Bill Bazzi, department Facebook statement 3
NEW: What FOX 2 Detroit added to the record
FOX 2 Detroit pulled together several key details from the department, the mayor, and the officers’ union:
- Timeline & status: Police confirmed to FOX 2 on Wednesday that a new optional patch had been unveiled; on Friday, the mayor said it was never an official prototype and was not vetted before it was presented publicly. 7
- Demographics & “first” claim: FOX 2 noted Dearborn Heights’ Middle Eastern/North African population is ~39% (neighboring Dearborn ~55%). It also reported the patch “would have been” the first in the U.S. to feature Arabic script—carefully phrased as conditional because the city walked it back. 7
- Union statement: The Dearborn Heights Police Officers Association (DHPOA) said a senior officer originally suggested a limited, commemorative patch for Ramadan, but that Chief Ahmed Haidar “unilaterally distributed [it] to the news media” as an optional, year-round patch. The union says that decision “made many of our officers feel segregated,” and asserts that after the media release, threats targeted both the officer and the department. (This is the union’s claim, quoted by FOX 2; the chief has not publicly issued a detailed rebuttal.) 7
- Original intent (from the deleted post): DHPD’s caption praised Officer Murdoch’s “creativity and dedication” and framed the design as a way to “celebrate the rich cultures that make our city unique.” 7
Dearborn Blog’s view: FOX 2’s follow-up is useful because it places the mayor’s clarification, the department’s original framing, and the union’s perspective in one place. It also avoids declaring “first in the U.S.” as a settled fact—something several aggregators and Facebook pages got wrong.
Why an Arabic patch matters in Dearborn Heights
Dearborn Heights sits in one of America’s most linguistically and culturally diverse corridors. In that context, a bilingual insignia isn’t “identity politics”; it’s community policing—a visible signal that the department sees, serves, and respects all residents. Police agencies around the country have used optional patches and commemorative designs to strengthen ties, recognize heritage months, and welcome new neighbors. 8
“This patch was created… to reflect and honor the diversity of our community—especially the many residents of Arabic descent who call Dearborn Heights home.”
—from the original DHPD post (now deleted) 2
We also encourage the city to consider parallel optional designs (for example, Polish, Bengali, Urdu, Spanish, Chaldean/Aramaic) developed with those communities, so the message is consistent: we see you, too.
Where the rollout went wrong
The idea was strong; the process was sloppy. According to the mayor, the concept left internal discussion and hit public social media before a department-wide review, union input, or City Hall sign-off. 3 That vacuum produced confusion and opened space for:
- Over-heated “first in the U.S.” headlines without independent verification;
- Culture-war framing from national aggregators unrelated to the department’s stated intent;
- Local posts (e.g., TCD) that amplified the “first/official” framing without linking an approval memo or policy directive, then chased the walk-back with more viral packaging. 9 10
Dearborn Blog’s stance: Community-facing uniform changes should never be rolled out via surprise social posts. They deserve a clear, transparent process—with documents the public can read—before any “unveiling.”
Community reaction—what leaderships said
Council President & mayoral candidate Mo Baydoun backed the intent of the design, condemned threats toward the officer and department, and criticized the way the rollout bypassed the council, rank-and-file officers, and the public. He pledged a respectful, transparent approach going forward. (Statement on his public Facebook page.) 11
“No one should be targeted for trying to build bridges… We must engage thoughtfully, not through press releases or political stunts.”
—Mo Baydoun 11
Trade press and local radio likewise emphasized the mayor’s clarification: no policy change has been approved; the patch is paused pending process. 5 6
About those headlines: separating news from narrative
Why did this spiral?
- A compelling image + proud caption;
- No approvals or explanatory documents;
- Viral shares and “first-ever” hype;
- A necessary correction from City Hall;
- Cue the outrage machine.
This is exactly why maturing public agencies stage sensitive announcements with full context: FAQs, timelines, approvals, a contact for questions, and (crucially) a copy of the actual order if it’s real. Anything less is an invitation to spin.
On TCD’s role: TCD’s packaging helped the design go viral but didn’t provide verifiable evidence of official adoption and didn’t front-load the mayor’s stakeholder requirement until after initial claims had spread. That isn’t the sequencing our community deserves. Local pages—ours included—should always link primary documents before declaring something “official,” “historic,” or “first.”
What a better path looks like (and how to get there)
If Dearborn Heights wants to revisit optional bilingual insignia—and we hope it does—the city can make this a model instead of a flashpoint:
- Publish the proposal (mock-ups, wear policy, procurement plan).
- Survey officers & residents (anonymous officer feedback + a public comment window).
- Meet stakeholders (union reps, community leaders, youth/elder councils, faith partners).
- Pilot & evaluate (limited voluntary wear with feedback forms).
- Vote & document (department order + administrative sign-off posted online).
- Announce with context (why now, translation notes, how to request interpreters at events).
Dearborn Blog’s position
We’re positive about the idea of an optional Arabic-English patch. Symbols aren’t substitutes for trust, but they can be invitations to it.
We’re critical of the rollout and of unverified reporting that prized virality over clarity.
And we’re unequivocal about this: policy debates are fair game; threatening public servants is not. Ever.
If City Hall and DHPD bring this back with a transparent process, we’ll be the first to applaud—and to encourage the same courtesy for other communities who call Dearborn Heights home.
Pull-quote
“Being first to post isn’t the same as being first to get it right.” —Dearborn Blog
Sources (live links)
Have thoughts? Send letters to editor@dearbornblog.org with “PATCH” in the subject line. Respectful debate welcomed; doxxing and harassment are not.
Footnotes
- Department announcement (since removed), summarized across local coverage; original text mirrored in multiple pickups. ↩
- Example mirror of the original caption text (Facebook post context): DHPD post ID 1204599638374770 (screen-captured by followers). ↩ ↩2
- Mayor Bill Bazzi statement on the DHPD Facebook page (Sept. 5, 2025), quoted in multiple outlets: “Should NOT have been presented as an official prototype.” ↩ ↩2 ↩3
- FOX 2 Detroit — “Dearborn Heights removes Arabic police patch: ‘not official’, mayor says” (Sept. 5, 2025). Includes demographics, timeline, and careful “would have been the first” phrasing. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/dearborn-heights-removes-arabic-police-patch-not-official-mayor-says ↩
- Police1 — “Mich. PD’s Arabic script police patch paused amid approval concerns” (Sept. 5, 2025). https://www.police1.com/news/mich-pds-arabic-script-police-patch-paused-amid-approval-concerns ↩ ↩2
- WWJ Newsradio (Audacy) — “Mayor says police patch with Arabic script was just a mock-up” (Sept. 5, 2025). https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/dearborn-heights-mayor-addresses-controversy-over-pd-patch ↩ ↩2
- FOX 2 Detroit full write-up with DHPOA statement excerpts and mayor’s clarification (Sept. 5, 2025). https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/dearborn-heights-removes-arabic-police-patch-not-official-mayor-says ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
- Police1 feature — “From tradition to innovation: Exploring the history and creativity of police patches” (Jan. 15, 2025). https://www.police1.com/entertainment/from-tradition-to-innovation-exploring-the-history-and-creativity-of-police-patches ↩
- TCD Dearborn posts presenting the design as an official unveiling and “first,” without linking approvals; examples captured by readers. ↩
- Additional aggregator reposts repeating the initial “first/official” framing after the mayor’s correction. ↩
- Mo Baydoun (Council President / mayoral candidate) statement on Facebook (Sept. 5, 2025): commitment to transparency, condemnation of threats. https://www.facebook.com/moformayor/ ↩ ↩2
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