The city of Hamtramck has settled a whistleblower lawsuit in which the city's former public works director accused officials of firing him for reporting police misconduct and racial discrimination.
Steve Shaya filed the whistleblower lawsuit against Hamtramck in February 2014, saying that he was framed in a hit-and-run in November 2013. Shaya says that he was charged with leaving the scene of the accident, after complaining about a Hamtramck police officer's violation of the city's ethics laws. Those charges were later dismissed.
The lawsuit also alleged that city officials were discriminating against Muslim and Arab-American residents.
The city fired Shaya in Novermebr 2014, claiming that he had not paid his city income tax. He is now a general manager for the Detroit Public Works Department.
Mark Michael Koroi is Shaya's lawyer. He told The Detroit News that the city paid Shaya $75,000 last week, after reaching a settlement in September.
Hamtramck officials have not commented on the lawsuit.
