Union wants Michigan city to cut ties with medical facility after cops allegedly insulted

An official for the union that represents Grosse Pointe Woods police officers wants the city to cut ties with a health care facility whose employees allegedly asked cops insulting questions, including "How many people have they killed?"

The alleged incident happened July 5, when a uniformed Grosse Pointe Woods police officer went into the Michigan Urgent Care facility on Mack Avenue for his annual physical checkup, said David Willis, director of labor services with the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council.

A NextCare Holding's representative said it was aware of an incident and an employee involved no longer works for the company, according to a media report.

Two female employees allegedly began insulting the officer and a sergeant who was later called to the scene, according to a July 8 letter Willis wrote to Grosse Pointe Woods City Administrator Frank Schulte.

In the letter, Willis demanded that the city stop doing business with Michigan Urgent Care. Willis told The Detroit News that the Police Department has used Michigan Urgent Care for officer physicals "for years."

Willis said he's still waiting on a meeting with Schulte, adding that various issues have caused the delay. Schulte did not return an email Sunday.

NextCare spokesman Jesse Henderson said in a statement: "NextCare is aware of an incident that occurred July 5th at our Michigan Urgent Care Facility in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, involving inappropriate comments made to a member of local law enforcement. This type of employee behavior is not condoned, nor is it consistent with NextCare’s mission or values. The employee involved is no longer with NextCare."

A company representative told Fox 2 in a statement: "NextCare is aware of an incident that occurred July 5 at our Michigan Urgent Care Facility in Grosse Pointe Michigan involving inappropriate comments made to a member of local law enforcement.  This type of behavior is not condoned, nor is it consistent with NextCare's mission or values. The employee involved is no longer with NextCare."

According to Willis' letter, the Michigan Urgent Care employees asked the officers "How many people were they going to kill when they left the urgent care," and commented on "How many people (one of the officers) was going to beat up tonight."

In his letter, Willis said: "The Michigan Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council is calling on the city to immediately stop using that facility and seek an apology to the Officers involved in this unacceptable incident."

While Willis said the alleged incident is the only one of its kind that he's seen, some police officials report an increase in reported instances of officers being assaulted or disrespected.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard testified during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last week that police are being maligned more than ever.

"I’ve been in this profession since the mid-1970s and some of the differences we are seeing today in our interactions with the public are alarming," Bouchard said. "That is for a host of complex reasons, but respect for each other, let alone respect for authority,

seems to have greatly diminished in our society.

"The demonization of police has added to the diminished respect and responsiveness to their authority," Bouchard told the panel.

ghunter@detroitnews.com

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Twitter: @GeorgeHunter_DN