DEARBORN, Mich. – An officer in the Dearborn Police Department was in court Friday morning for a preliminary hearing on charges connected with allegations of improper touching during a traffic stop.
Justin Smith is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct and common-law offenses. He was bound over for trial.
A woman said Smith improperly touched her during a traffic stop in May of 2016. Court testimony revealed that Smith knows the woman, a waitress at a local restaurant with whom he is friendly.
The unidentified woman claims that Smith stopped her car after she left her boyfriend’s house near Cherry Hill and Telegraph roads. She said the contact was unwelcome and entirely unexpected.
“It was an awkward silence, and then he just turned into the car, reached in and touched my (breast) and then went on about his business,” the woman said in court.
Smith was suspended without pay.
“The Dearborn Police Department is committed to remaining completely transparent in matters of this nature and we will continue to do that during the course of this investigation,” Dearborn police Chief Ronald Haddad said. “An ongoing internal investigation is underway, and we will continue to monitor the criminal case in court.”
