Suspended deputy may resolve ethnic intimidation, assault case

Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy was off-duty during Marshalls incident

Macomb County prosecutors and an off-duty Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy accused of making a racial slur against and throwing a pillow or washcloth at an Arabic woman may resolve the case with a plea.

Tenia Fleming, 44, appeared with her attorney, Lilian Diallo, in front of Judge Kathleen Tocco 39th District Court in Roseville for a preliminary examination on charges of assault and ethnic intimidation.

Tocco agreed to adjourn the case to a May 1 pretrial and May 8 preliminary examination while the two sides attempt to work out a deal in which Fleming could retain her job, Diallo said. Fleming was suspended without pay following the Dec. 15, 2023 incident at the Marshall’s store in Roseville.

Law enforcement officials said Fleming threw a pillow at the woman, but Diallo said after the hearing she threw a washcloth.

Diallo said her client was wrong to throw the item but that Fleming’s accuser, a 19-year-old woman, was making comments about her appearance to another person on a telephone.

Diallo also denied her client made a racial slur. Security video of the incident does not include audio, she said

“There was no racial animosity,” Diallo said.

The complaining witness, who was at the courthouse Wednesday, was wearing a hijab and abay, a full-length dress.

Diallo said the incident was the result of “microaggressions” between the parties.

“There are so many microaggressions in life that people are dealing with, that things blow up and mushroom in a manner in which you may not have intended,” she said. “There was a set of microaggressions that facilitated this event to become what it became.”

Merriam-Webster defines a microaggression as “a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority).”

Diallo said police did not interview her client to get her side of the story.

She said Fleming has had a long and successful career with the Sheriff’s Office, including work related to personal protection orders.