Detroit Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Jennie Whitfield was fired Friday, a week after Metro Times reported that she was accused of showing up drunk at the Rosa Parks Transit Center, berating employees, assaulting a security guard, and chasing a pigeon through the building.
Whitfield’s departure was announced internally by DDOT Director Robert Cramer, who wrote in an email to management staff that “Chief of Staff Jennie Whitfield is no longer at DDOT, effective today.”
The firing comes after Metro Times uncovered allegations that Whitfield arrived at the transit center shortly before midnight on Jan. 23 in a city-issued vehicle, appeared intoxicated, verbally abused security guards, and nearly fell from a balcony while attempting to chase a bird with a bottle of water. Security guards and employees said the incident was captured on surveillance cameras, though the footage was later deleted after the system’s 30-day retention period expired…