Dearborn Fire Chief Gets Probation, Community Service For OWI

DEARBORN, MI — The chief of the Dearborn Fire Department was sentenced Wednesday for drunk driving, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

Joseph Murray, 44, to a year of probation, 120 hours of community service and weekly drug and alcohol screenings after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated.

Dearborn city officials will direct Murray's community service, according to the prosecutor's office.

Murray must complete inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient counseling, weekly random drug and alcohol screens and has to attend weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, according to the prosecutor's office.

The chief was stopped by officers on Aug. 29 in the area of Telegraph Road and Dartmouth Street in Dearborn Heights around 3 a.m. while he was driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit and weaving in the road, prosecutors said.

During the traffic stop, Murray slurred his speech, refused a breathalyzer and struggled with sobriety tests, according to police bodycam footage.

Murray, who oversees more than 125 firefighters who work out of five fire stations, was then placed on administrative leave as Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud vowed appropriate action once more facts became available.

Murray was reinstated back to his post in November.

"The choice to retain Chief Murray derives from balancing a two-decades-long career in public service and the humility to not evaluate an individual in their darkest moments," Hammoud told Patch. "I am confident that Dearborn residents will be served well by Chief Murray as he works towards continuing his duties in full."