Arbitrator orders Warren to
reinstate cop fired for cutting off woman's hair weave during arrest
WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Warren
Police officer who was caught on videotape hacking off a woman's hair is
getting her job back.
An arbitrator ordered that
Officer Bernadette Najor be reinstated. She had been fired following the
incident that occurred in November 2013.
7 Action News first reported on
the incident in January.
Many jails remove an inmate's
hair extensions because they could be used as a weapon, but Charda Gregory
didn't have extensions. Her weave was sewn into the braids on her scalp.
The firing stemmed from the
arrest of Gregory, a 22-year-old hair dresser who had been taken into custody,
accused of trashing a room at the Suez Motel on 8 Mile. At the time her lawyer,
Paule Misukewicz, said, "She had a couple of drinks, then woke up in a
strange place. Didn't know how she got
there, completely disoriented."
By the time she was brought in
to the jail lock-up on the top floor of the Warren Police Department, Gregory
had been pepper sprayed, but she appears calm.
However, it's clear in the
video that Gregory can barely stand as she comes face-to-face with Officer
Najor.
"She took it upon herself
to get the scissors. And for whatever
reason, decided that she was going to butcher my client," said Misukewicz
in January.
Video shows that as Officer
Najor pats Gregory down, the officer pushes Gregory against the wall twice.
Suddenly Najor starts going for
Gregory's hair. The officers struggle with Gregory, dragging her over to a
restraining chair to tie down her arms and legs.
Officer Najor starts yanking
Gregory's head from side-to-side, chopping out chunks of hair. It takes 3 full
minutes before Najor gives one final yank and removes what's left of Gregory's
weave.
Najor reportedly told police
officials that she had to remove Gregory's weave because of alleged threats of
suicide. For our original report, police officials said that was an explanation
that made no sense.
At the time of our original
report, officials also said this was not Najor's first discipline problem, but
they could not go into details, citing restrictions on what he can legally say
about a former employee.
7 Action News obtained Officer
Najor's personnel records – they show she was suspended without pay for 10 days
in 2010 for being "untruthful."
Despite several attempts to
reach Najor by phone for our original report, she refused to talk to us when we
caught up with her, instead screaming at 7 Action News Investigator Heather
Catallo as she tried to get Najor's side of the story:
"If that camera is on me I
will call the police! Call 911 right now!"
Because of what happened in the
jail, all of the criminal charges against Charda Gregory were dismissed.
Warren Police have issued the
following statement regarding the arbitrator's decision:
The City of Warren is in
receipt of an arbitrator's decision reinstating a police officer involved in a
highly-publicized incident in our jail.
The City strongly disagrees
with the arbitrator's decision. The
actions taken by the Warren Police Department were appropriate and required.
Despite that, this is a nation
of laws, and even where we believe that an arbitrator's decision is plainly
wrong, we will follow it.
This unfortunate set of
circumstances should not in any way detract from the brave police officers in
our police department who put their lives on the line every day. The City will continue to strive to make this
excellent police department even better.
Charda settled her lawsuit
against the city in February . Under the settlement agreement, the city of
Warren paid Gregory $75,000 and Gregory agrees to release the city, police
department and Najor from any future claims.
