70 police workers ordered to evacuate

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70 police workers ordered to evacuate

Leaks, pests, dung riddle the 7th floor

April 4, 2002

BY BEN SCHMITT

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver has ordered about 70 employees to move

from the seventh floor of headquarters after complaints about poor

ventilation, leaky ceilings, mold, vermin and pigeon droppings.

HEALTH HAZARDS AT DETROIT HEADQUARTERS

A new crisis cropped up this week at the deteriorating Detroit Police

headquarters. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Police Chief Jerry Oliver both say

the building, which opened in 1923, needs to be replaced.

8th & 9th floors:Because of unclean, poorly ventilated and roach-infested

conditions, prisoner lockups on the eighth and ninth floors were closed last

fall. U.S. Justice Department investigators had toured the lockups as part

of their ongoing civil rights probe.

7th floor:After employees complained, Oliver this week ordered about 70

employees to permanently move out of the seventh floor. Among the problems

cited: mold, inadequate ventilation, pigeon droppings, leaky ceiling tiles

and odors.

Throughout the building:Roach and rodent infestations, plumbing problems,

flooding, leaky pipes and poor ventilation are among employee complaints.

Garage and basement:A piece of concrete that fell in the basement Saturday

caused a water pipe to burst, shutting off the building's water supply for

most of the day. On March 18, a forklift hit a water pipe during

construction in the police garage, temporarily disabling some of the city's

911 service.

The problems are the latest to plague the aging building at 1300 Beaubien,

which Oliver and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick say needs to be replaced.

Oliver gave the order Monday after two police unions filed grievances. State

health officials were called to investigate in December and issued a report

outlining the problems last month. But the state did not cite the department

for violations.

Officers with the armed robbery, sex crimes and property crimes units work

on the seventh floor. They will move to a building at 7800 Dix in southwest

Detroit, where the surveillance unit is based.

In addition, officers who oversee liquor licenses and public vehicles will

move, but no decision has been made on where they will end up, said Officer

Ken .

" We finally had our voice heard, " said Wednesday. " It's bad up here,

and nobody's done anything about it for years. "

The city's Health Department is preparing to test the seventh floor for

possible health hazards, including toxic black mold, said Regina Strong, a

spokeswoman for the mayor. So far, Strong said, there is no evidence of the

mold.

Last fall, the department closed its decrepit lockups for men and women on

the eighth and ninth floors. On March 18, a basement flood caused by a

construction accident in the headquarters garage led to a temporary citywide

failure of the 911 system. A water pipe burst Saturday at headquarters, when

a slab of concrete fell from the basement ceiling, shutting off the

building's running water for most of the day.

" It's old, and it has some issues, " Strong said.

The issues, said Sgt. Theresa Byrge, made her sick. Byrge, who works in the

department's property crime unit, said her asthma worsened and she suffered

from bronchitis bouts in recent months.

" I've never been as sick this frequently in my life, " she said. " Even the

common cold lasted longer. Sometimes there are inches of water on the floor

up here. "

Sgt. Meritha , an alternate union representative for the department's

Lieutenants and Sergeants Association, said the move will boost officers'

morale. About 750 people work at headquarters.

" They will feel a lot safer, " she said. " We have had ceilings constantly

collapsing due to leakage, roaches, and mold. "

Oliver recently visited the seventh floor, and the shoddy conditions

finalized his decision, said Lt. Janice , a police spokewoman. Oliver

was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

According to a report from the state Department of Consumer & Industry

Services, windows in the seventh floor's kitchen could not be completely

closed and created access for pigeons.

Industrial Hygienist Magnus Ndukwe, who works the agency, wrote in the

report that the floor did not have a proper ventilation system. Carbon

dioxide levels in some area indicated too little fresh air, the report said.

Other levels were just below the threshold for fresh air problems.

The report noted no sign of toxic black mold or falling ceilings, which were

among the complaints. said many problems had been fixed at the time

of the inspection. But with the building's age, the problems continue to pop

up, she said.

" These are surface corrections, " she said. " A lot of walls were painted

before the inspection. "

The report acknowledges evidence of prior water leaks from the eighth-floor

rest room onto the seventh floor.

Ndukwe declined comment.

Norma Carroll, a union representative for the Detroit Police Officers

Association, said the water leakage is a constant problem.

" I'm just glad we're gone, " said Carroll, who works in the sex crimes unit.

" It really is disgusting. "

Contact BEN SCHMITT at 313-222-6597 or schmitt@....