Dearborn Heights removes Arabic police patch: ‘not official’, mayor says

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Dearborn Heights Police unveiled a new optional shield that has both English and Arabic script reading the name of the police department. 

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 Dearborn Heights Police Officers Association also released a statement on Friday:

"On 9/3/25, a well decorated senior officer of this police department approached Chief Haidar with a photo of an edited Dearborn Heights Police patch. The patch dictated the Dearborn Heights Police name, in Arabic writing, under the English version. The Officer’s original intent of designing this patch was to have a commemorative patch for Dearborn Heights Officers to wear during the month of Ramadan, in support of our Muslim community. The Officer’s well-intentioned idea was then unilaterally distributed, by Chief Haidar, to the news media. Instead of implementing the patch with the original intent of commemorating the month of Ramadan, Chief Haidar implemented the patch as an optional patch for everyone in the department to wear year-round. This action made many of our officers feel segregated within the police department. The DHPOA executive board addressed these concerns with Chief Haidar, along with the potential negative repercussions it may bring upon the department. Those same concerns were immediately dismissed and refuted by Chief Haidar.Since the reckless media release by Chief Haidar, there have been countless threats and criticisms made to not only the senior officer, but to the entire police department as a whole."

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.