City officials say things aren’t as bad as Detroit Postmaster Lloyd Wesley is claiming. Wesley told Metro Times earlier this month that the city was doing nothing to protect postal workers from dog and human attacks in some neighborhoods, and as a result he was considering cancellation of home delivery in the most dangerous areas (“Delivery in doubt,” Metro Times, Feb. 12-18).
Post Office spokesman Ed Moore tells us such a move is no longer being considered, as it would devastate Detroit’s postal workers, who are ranked top in the nation for meeting all service standards four years running. Moore’s statement confuses us, because Wesley insists that he’s waiting to see what action is taken by city and congressional leaders before making a decision.
Meanwhile, Wende Berry, spokeswoman for Detroit’s Health Department, says Detroit has worked hard since Wesley raised the issue in 1998. Proof of the city’s success, she says, is that complaints from postal workers to animal control decreased from 1,121 in 2001 to 671 in 2002.
Berry says Wesley has rebuffed city suggestions to address the safety issue. “None of our solutions met with his approval,” she says, referring to Wesley.
Meanwhile, Detroit Deputy Police Chief Ronald Haddad says postal safety is a “top priority,” and all precinct commanders have met with animal-control officials to improve response times and communication with postal workers. “They’ve heightened our awareness, and we’re going to do everything we can to bring order to the communities they highlighted. Hopefully, working together we can make it a safer community for everybody.”
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