Detroit Department of Transportation officials shielded employees who disrupted bus service after a "romantic interaction" between Senior Transportation Service Inspector Andre Reece and bus driver Dayna Ruff. The investigation revealed that the two engaged in "inappropriate intimate behavior," falsely reported mechanical problems, and left a bus running and unattended, causing major delays.
The investigation found that top supervisors failed to properly investigate or discipline serious violations of workplace rules. Despite classifying the conduct as a Class IV offense, Superintendent of Operations Howard Bragg III issued only five-day suspensions, instead of the mandatory 30-day suspension required by policy.
The Office of Inspector General also found that Bragg did not seek out or request video evidence that documented the misconduct, and Assistant Director of Operations Andre Mallett failed to address the issue even after learning of additional evidence. The OIG recommended significant reforms to ensure thorough, transparent, and consistent investigations.
In a case where service disruptions can have cascading consequences for riders who rely heavily on buses, the lack of accountability from top officials is troubling. One-third of Detroit residents rely on DDOT buses to get to work, school, medical appointments, and childcare, making even short delays unacceptable. The city's employee handbook policies are clear: a Class IV offense should warrant a 30-day suspension, pending discharge.
The OIG's findings highlight systemic problems within DDOT's Operations Management Team, which failed to follow disciplinary policies mandated by the 2008 DDOT Employee Handbook. The investigation also revealed that Reece and Ruff failed to disclose their romantic relationship as required by executive order, and human resources officials failed to properly review or complete required disclosure forms.
In response, Bragg and Mallett argued that discharge was not warranted, citing procedural fairness concerns. However, the OIG rejected these claims, stating that required video evidence was available at the time and that handbook penalties were ignored without justification.
The city's leaders must take immediate action to address these findings and ensure that investigations are thorough, transparent, and consistent with written policy. The public has a right to know when top officials shield employees from accountability for disrupting essential services like bus transportation, especially in a city where residents rely heavily on DDOT buses.
The investigation found that top supervisors failed to properly investigate or discipline serious violations of workplace rules. Despite classifying the conduct as a Class IV offense, Superintendent of Operations Howard Bragg III issued only five-day suspensions, instead of the mandatory 30-day suspension required by policy.
The Office of Inspector General also found that Bragg did not seek out or request video evidence that documented the misconduct, and Assistant Director of Operations Andre Mallett failed to address the issue even after learning of additional evidence. The OIG recommended significant reforms to ensure thorough, transparent, and consistent investigations.
In a case where service disruptions can have cascading consequences for riders who rely heavily on buses, the lack of accountability from top officials is troubling. One-third of Detroit residents rely on DDOT buses to get to work, school, medical appointments, and childcare, making even short delays unacceptable. The city's employee handbook policies are clear: a Class IV offense should warrant a 30-day suspension, pending discharge.
The OIG's findings highlight systemic problems within DDOT's Operations Management Team, which failed to follow disciplinary policies mandated by the 2008 DDOT Employee Handbook. The investigation also revealed that Reece and Ruff failed to disclose their romantic relationship as required by executive order, and human resources officials failed to properly review or complete required disclosure forms.
In response, Bragg and Mallett argued that discharge was not warranted, citing procedural fairness concerns. However, the OIG rejected these claims, stating that required video evidence was available at the time and that handbook penalties were ignored without justification.
The city's leaders must take immediate action to address these findings and ensure that investigations are thorough, transparent, and consistent with written policy. The public has a right to know when top officials shield employees from accountability for disrupting essential services like bus transportation, especially in a city where residents rely heavily on DDOT buses.
this is really disappointing, especially when you think about how many people rely on those buses to get around the city... 30-day suspensions just isn't enough, in my opinion 
it's like, if there are going to be consequences for messing up, they should stick to it 
and not try to water them down because of some procedural thing... 
it's not like the employees didn't break any rules or anything 
this is a huge letdown, top brass letting off with slap on wrist instead of real consequences 
30-day suspension not even in the cards? it's unacceptable. 1/3 of Detroit residents are relying on these buses to get by and yet the powers that be just sweep this under the rug 
. It just goes to show that top officials are more worried about being "fair" than doing what's right by the public 
. And now they're trying to spin this as if they followed policy 
... please 
. What really gets me is that these employees knew better and still went ahead with it 
. We need more transparency and less excuses from those in power 
.
This whole thing is a classic case of "who's in charge around here?" 
I mean, the fact that top supervisors are more worried about "procedural fairness" than actually holding employees accountable is just laughable 
. And don't even get me started on the lack of transparency - if a video was available, why didn't they use it to discipline these employees? 
.
omg can u believe this?! so the detroit dept of transpo ppl got caught doin some majorly shady stuff 
and it's literally just a slap on the wrist 
for these seniors 
and they didn't even try to get any evidence 
like wut r u even doin?! 
30 days ain't enough for the kind of shenanigans that went down here we need real accountability not some watered-down punishment 
this is just more proof that our city's leaders are out of touch with the people they're supposed to serve.