A romantic relationship between two Detroit Department of Transportation employees last year led to stalled bus service ― and higher-ups didn’t properly discipline the pair, according to an investigative report from the City of Detroit’s Office of Inspector General.
The DDOT workers − Senior Transportation Service Inspector Andre Reece and Transportation Equipment Operator Dayna Ruff − engaged in “romantic interactions” on Ruff’s route in May, the report found. On one occasion that month, their actions led to 115 minutes of disrupted services.
The report also said that DDOT Superintendent Howard Bragg imposed “lenient discipline” and did not properly investigate a complaint about the two employees. Assistant Director Andre Mallett “abused his authority” as well, by not issuing “appropriate discipline” even after finding out about video evidence of Reece and Ruff, according to the inspector general’s findings.
“As it relates to employee disciplinary action, the application of DDOT policies are inconsistent
and situationally subjective,” the report found. The two were given a 5-day suspension when an employee handbook calls for a 30-day suspension.
Reached by phone on Monday afternoon, Reece declined to comment. The Free Press was unable to immediately reach Ruff, Bragg and Mallett. All four are still employed by DDOT.
In a statement to the Free Press on Monday, Executive Director of Transportation Robert Cramer said: “The fairness and thoroughness of the disciplinary process is critically important to building a culture of professionalism and accountability at DDOT, especially when it comes to dealing with employee misconduct.”
The department has already made some changes to improve policies and is evaluating all of the recommendations from the inspector general’s report, he said. Those will be addressed in DDOT’s response to the inspector general by Jan. 23, Cramer said.
The statement went on to say: ”We will ensure that employee disciplinary actions align with the City’s Human Resource standards and improve processes to prevent discipline not being applied appropriately in the future. DDOT takes this matter very seriously and is committed to addressing these recommendations quickly now that the OIG has finished its work.”
The investigation stems from an anonymous complaint to the OIG on June 4. The inspector general’s investigation found that Reece and Ruff − who were supervisor and subordinate − did not disclose their romantic relationship, which is a violation of a city executive order.
On May 6, Reece and Ruff were observed “fondling each other” on Ruff’s city coach, according to video footage from the bus referenced in the report. Reece then, the report continued, reported an “unsubstantiated mechanical defect” on Ruff’s coach. Reece removed the bus from commission and took Ruff to a fast food restaurant, all of which led to roughly 115 minutes of service disruption. Then, on May 20, the employees met several times, leaving their assignments to go to a fast food restaurant.
Additional video footage shows that on July 7, after getting off her coach, Ruff went to a white city car − later identified as Reece’s vehicle − and remained in the back seat for 20 minutes. The car then drove off, returned after 20 minutes, and Ruff went back to her bus.
On another occasion in July, Ruff was shown in a video talking on her phone while driving the bus, which is not allowed by DDOT policy. She later left the coach for 16 minutes. She and Reese were seen together. On the bus, Ruff was heard saying “you bad” while Reese walked away.
“Their actions led to significant disruptions in service and a waste of City resources,” the investigation found.
The Office of Inspector General made several recommendations including that Reece, Ruff, Bragg and Mallett be disciplined, and that DDOT create policies to better manage relationships when reported.
In an undated statement included in the OIG report, Mallett stood by the department’s disciplinary process. The events involving Reece and Ruff “were taken seriously, and the disciplinary process was handled with diligence, transparency and in accordance with departmental policy.”
In a formal response, dated Oct. 31, Bragg told the Office of Inspector General that the “investigation and disciplinary process were conducted collaboratively and transparently.” Bragg pointed out that a “fraternization form” was completed, but that it should have been submitted at the beginning of the relationship. He goes on to say that reissuing discipline “is not feasible.” The Office of Inspector General did not agree with that in its investigation.
“While we recognize opportunities for procedural refinement, we affirm that all actions taken were within the scope of departmental authority and policy,” Bragg’s letter read.
Read the full report:bit.ly/OIGDDOTreport.