Shelby Township — A former Shelby Township police officer has sued the township and its police chief, alleging the township retaliated against him for opposing and reporting alleged sexual discrimination and harassment by the chief.
In a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Detroit, David Nelson, who was hired by the Shelby Township Police Department in 2016, alleges the township terminated his employment last year in retaliation for his opposition to Police Chief Robert J. Shelide’s “acts of sex discrimination/harassment,” for reporting sex discrimination and harassment, and for making a complaint of retaliation.
Nelson recorded a meeting in which Shelide allegedly made “derogatory” statements about hiring female police officers, the lawsuit said. He told representatives of Shelby Township that he had recorded the comments and opposed them.
Shelby Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis on Monday said he can’t comment on any litigation, but directed The Detroit News to Shelby Township Attorney Robert Huth. Huth said that he “adamantly” disagrees with what Nelson is claiming.
“There are other reasons for his termination,” he said, “and the township has agreed to arbitrate those separately in another cause of action that’s currently pending to resolve that.”
Huth said that if a police officer is discharged, the matter can be heard outside the court system by an impartial mediator. Nelson is following that process, but he also filed a lawsuit.
When asked why Nelson was terminated, Huth said the township will “withhold comment on that at this time.”
Chief’s alleged comments at meeting
Nelson, 57, is a 29-year law enforcement veteran who was previously employed by the Detroit Police Department for almost 19 years before being hired by Shelby Township in 2016 as a patrol and field training officer. During his career at the township, he also worked as an evidence technician, firearms trainer, armor trainer, field training officer and use of force instructor.
On March 31, 2025, Shelide called a Patrol Advisory Board meeting. Nelson alleged that during the meeting, Shelide made statements about hiring female police officers, including, “We need some shit kickers around here to counter the chicks,” and “You should know my politics, I would have 80 dudes in here if I could but when I don’t have any dudes coming in and I have chicks coming in, who are qualified, what am I going to do.” The lawsuit said that Nelson audio taped the meeting.
The suit says that on April 3, 2025, a female patrol officer informed Nelson that the female police officers in the department had been subjected to a “sexually hostile work environment” by Shelide and that they intended to file a complaint against him.
“On May 23, 2025, the Shelby female police officers filed a formal complaint with the SHELBY Human Resource Department complaining that Shelide was making degrading, belittling, and hurtful comments about women in law enforcement, not properly recognizing their accomplishments, undermining their ability to supervise and lead their male subordinates, and creating a sexually hostile work environment for them that contributed to a culture of inequality,” the lawsuit said.
On July 17, 2025, Nelson was interviewed by Shelby Township human resource representative Daniel McCoy and attorney Joseph Urban as part of the township’s investigation into the complaint filed by the female officers, the lawsuit said.
“During this investigative interview, Nelson told McCoy and Urban that he had an audio recording of Shelide making sexist comments during the Patrol Advisory Board meeting, that he opposed these sexist comments, and he further reported that Shelide engaged in sex discrimination/harassment,” the lawsuit said.
Retaliation claim
On July 25, 2025, Shelide commenced an Internal Affairs investigation into Nelson, and on Aug. 22, the township completed the investigation, the lawsuit contends.
On Sept. 9, Nelson was ordered by Shelide to attend a Loudermill hearing on Sept. 16 as part of a pre-disciplinary process, the lawsuit said.
“During the Loudermill hearing, Shelide was extremely hostile and argumentative, repeatedly yelling at Nelson, and refusing to provide Nelson with an opportunity to respond to and ask questions,” the suit claimed.
The lawsuit also says that Shelide told Nelson that he was “probably recording this meeting” too.
“Nelson was intimidated and fearful of Shelide during the Loudermill hearing and unable to fairly respond to the charges against him,” the suit read.
On Sept. 18, Nelson was placed on suspension with pay pending further investigation. On Sept. 23, he met with Urban, the attorney, and Shelby Township Human Resources Director Lisa Suida and made a formal complaint that Shelide was retaliating against him.
On Oct. 8, the township terminated Nelson’s employment.
The township’s board of trustees voted unanimously in March to adopt a contract for Shelide that extends his employment to January 2033.
Shelide has come under fire before. In 2020, the Shelby Township trustees suspended him for 30 days and ordered him to undergo cultural awareness and de-escalation training after he made inflammatory comments online about Black Lives Matter protesters.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ex-Shelby police officer sues township and chief, alleging retaliation
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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