Dearborn Employee Who Made Racist Remark No Longer Works For City

DEARBORN, MI —The Dearborn employee who made an anti-Muslim remark on a public Facebook page no longer works for the city, officials told Patch Thursday. City officials say that because it's a "personal matter," they will not be commenting any further.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. spoke out last week saying he "strongly condemns" an offensive remark made by part-time employee Bill Larion. Marion commented about a model wearing a burkini on the cover of Sports Illustrated, saying she better belonged on "Camels are us."

According to the City of Dearborn, the Dearborn Police Department began over an investigation into the comment over the weekend. The comment was not posted during business hours for the City of Dearborn, but O'Reilly said Monday that its content is in opposition to the city’s mission statement.

“I have zero tolerance for the type of language used in the Facebook comment,” O’Reilly said last week. “The comment violates the City of Dearborn’s values and practices, as well as our expectations for employees. It violates the very heart of our mission statement, which is that we must earn the public’s trust in everything we do."

The City of Dearborn provides employee training addressing discrimination, sexual harassment and cultural sensitivity, officials said in a statement Monday, adding that the city requires that all employees treat people of all backgrounds with respect.

"That expectation carries over into employees’ behavior off hours, when, under certain situations, their actions can be considered a reflection on the City of Dearborn," the statement read.

O'Reilly said that Dearborn is "extremely proud of our diversity and consider it a strength and an advantage."

"So we will continue to nurture it and to condemn words or actions that attempt to divide us,” he added.

The offensive comment being investigated was posted in reaction to a news story about a Muslim woman appearing in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition in a traditionally modest bathing suit called a "burkini." Dearborn is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States.