Sexual harassment lawsuit by officers against ex-Dearborn Heights sergeant: 'Sick stuff'

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A lawsuit claims a police officer was forced to perform sex acts on bosses at work, while another was sexually harassed and retaliated against.

The civil lawsuit names a former sergeant in the Dearborn Heights Police Department. One of those officers who filed suit, Maxwell Beardon, is on administrative leave from police, suffering from mental health issues as a result of all this.

Now, Michigan State Police are investigating to see if there is anything criminal to pursue.

The backstory:

"We are talking about sick, sick stuff," said attorney Jon Marko.

It’s all laid out in a graphic, even violent civil suit, naming the ex-sergeant who allegedly sexual harassed young officers, and sexually assaulted one.

"Asking for pictures of their genitals to be sent to their superiors, in one case, forcing oral sex by a superior in a position of power," Marko said.

Marko is representing two officers – Sgt. Hashim Zrien and Beardon.

Officer Beardon says it started with dirty text messages back in 2021 and escalated to requests for nude photos, then oral sex in his office, and in the basement of the Dearborn Heights Police Department.

"The abuse that was going on in this case was rampant, it was out in the open it was systemic," Marko said.

In the suit, Officer Zrien says he’s aware of 10 other officers that dealt with the harassment that he allegedly did. A barage of text messages and requests for sex from the same sergeant, Zrien says he denied him – and was retaliated against.

"We have a whole plethora in this case we have messages we have dates, times," Marko said.

As higher ups were looking into the allegations, the sergeant left and was hired at Ann Arbor police, where he is currently employed.

FOX 2 reached out for comment – they didn’t have one at this time.

"I have a really good feeling that there are more individuals out there who have been abused as well," Marko said.

Dearborn Heights Police Chief Ahmed Haidar issued a statement, making it clear that these allegations happened before he took over his position recently and that they’re cooperating with that MSP investigation. 

Chief Andre Anderson also released a statement:

The Ann Arbor Police Department is aware of serious allegations of sexual misconduct involving a current officer. The alleged incidents occurred several years prior to the officer’s employment with our agency and while they were employed with another law enforcement organization.

Upon learning of the allegations, we took immediate steps to:

Initiate an internal review in accordance with our policies and procedures.

Place the officer on administrative leave, pending further review.

While we are limited in what we can disclose due to privacy laws and the integrity of the investigation, we want to make clear we are committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining the highest standards in law enforcement.

-Chief Andre Anderson

 

 

Dearborn HeightsCrime and Public Safety