DETROIT (WXYZ) — A former Detroit police officer who spent time in jail over allegations he stole reward money is now accused of payroll fraud during his time as a Detroit fire lieutenant.
Watch the full investigation in the video player below:
Steve Perry resigned in April following allegations that he collected overtime for EMS shifts he never worked.
Perry, who has not been charged with any crimes stemming from the most recent allegations, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Back in 2010, while Perry was a Detroit police officer assigned to investigate auto thefts, he was accused of submitting 14 anonymous tips about stolen vehicles, then having the reward money deposited into his own bank account.
Over the course of 18 months, Perry was accused of collecting $26,998 in tip rewards.
He would be charged with five felonies, later pleading no contest to a misdemeanor and sentenced to 32 days in jail.
Now, Detroit’s own fire commissioner wonders how Perry was given a second chance by the same city that already accused him of theft.
“Why is he on our department?” Detroit Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms asked Channel 7’s Ross Jones. “A person who had a history of that, to be honest, is not welcome on the Detroit Fire Department.”
Charges, then a second chance
If Perry's career looked finished after his jail sentence, it appeared to be flourishing less than two years ago.
On a night in November 2023, along with other firefighters and police, Perry was honored at the city’s “Above and Beyond Awards” in 2023 for saving a life.
As the mayor and other dignitaries looked on, Perry was celebrated for his role in rescuing a driver whose vehicle collided with a tree and caught fire.
Perry, working as a fire marshal, witnessed the accident and pulled the driver out of the burning vehicle, rendering aid until EMS and other firefighters arrived.
“Thanks to Lieutenant Perry’s quick actions and bravery, the trapped driver was rescued before the fire continued to spread,” said an announcement from the Detroit Public Safety Foundation.
But the department isn’t celebrating Perry today.
DFD says it discovered Perry’s alleged fraud after a payroll administrator was hired to audit the department’s overtime and look for efficiencies.
The administrator noticed some irregularities with Perry’s overtime that, at first, were believed to be limited to just one pay period, the department says.
That prompted Perry to write a memo saying he’d exercised “poor judgment” by not clocking out for his shift and that he was “extremely remorseful.”
“When I found that out, I put the member on leave without pay (and) we did a deeper dive,” Simms said.
A fire department audit looked back at more than three years of shifts where Perry — a fire inspector — collected overtime by working shifts on an ambulance.
Of the 246 days he was paid for, the investigation could only confirm Perry worked 54 of them.
For 192 shifts he was paid overtime, according to an internal memo, the city wasn’t sure he was coming to work.
“This member was getting paid overtime for not working,” Simms said.
According to the DFD audit, the pay in question amounts to $138,662.
Perry resigned from the department back on April 3 and today, Detroit police say they’re preparing to submit a warrant to Wayne County’s prosecutor.
'Where was the background investigation?'
Ricardo Moore remembers Perry from this time working for DPD.
“This guy comes across as a very nice guy,” Moore said. “You couldn’t tell me he’s done something like this.”
Today, Moore helps oversee the department on the Board of Police Commissioners, and says Perry’s 2009 criminal case should have ended his career in public service.
“A simple internet search would have produced this information,” Moore said. “Where was the background investigation?”
Back in 2014, Simms was not in charge of the fire department when Perry was hired, and said he could not speak to how Perry slipped through the hiring process.
“Based on our research, we have found no evidence of the Detroit Fire Department having been aware of Perry’s criminal history at the time of his hiring,” said Corey McIsaac, DFD’s director of media relations.
A search of court records today does not return any record of Perry’s 2009 criminal case, meaning it is likely that he had the case expunged.
Still, even the city’s fire commissioner doesn’t understand how Perry got a second chance.
“This was one member out of over 1,100 members,” Simms said. “It was an isolated incident and it won’t happen again.”
While Perry may not receive another paycheck from the fire department, the city may not be done paying him.
Thanks to his years of service, sources confirm, Perry is eligible for a city pension.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.