By Jeremy Adragna
C & G Staff Writer

HAZEL PARK — City officials finally received the apology they were seeking from the Drug Enforcement Administration last week for a misrepresentation in a television series about the federal agency’s Detroit division.

In May, City Manager Edward Klobucher said he and other city leaders were upset about a new television series airing on Spike TV called “DEA.” The narrative series, filmed like a documentary, portrays the work of DEA agents as they make arrests and attempt to bust up drug-dealing networks. 

In one of the six episodes produced by Al Roker Entertainment, agents suit up in the parking lot of the Hazel Park municipal building, 111 E. Nine Mile, before heading to a neighborhood in Detroit to arrest two men suspected of dealing Ecstasy.

At one point in the episode, a narrator refers to Hazel Park as a drug-infested part of the city of Detroit where the dealers live. That particular reference upset some Hazel Park city leaders.

Klobucher sent a letter to Special Agent Mary Irene Cooper, the DEA’s chief of congressional and public affairs, in which he chides the agency for error.

Although the DEA participated with the production of the television series, Cooper said in a response letter to Klobucher that the agency had no input on the show’s narration. Cooper said the DEA played only a small role in the show’s production, which aimed to show agents meeting procedural guidelines and to be sure that “constitutional thresholds were recognized and adhered to by the producer.”

“It would never be the DEA’s intention to cast a show of criticism over a family-oriented community with a sterling reputation for integrity and safety, such as yours in the city of Hazel Park,” Cooper wrote.

Klobucher said he satisfied by the DEA’s response to the problems he brought up about the show’s production.

“The city of Hazel Park understands the Drug Enforcement Administration’s position on this matter and appreciates that they have expressed regret about how our community was portrayed, and we believe the letter from Mary Irene Cooper brings this matter to a close,” said Klobucher. “We are grateful that the DEA took the opportunity to respond to our concerns.”

Cooper said that the DEA and the city of Hazel Park share a common bond in crime fighting and offered assistance in future public safety endeavors.

The program aired for a short time in April and May, and is replayed on the same Spike TV network. The network’s Web site refers to the first six episodes of the program as Season 1; however, no announcement was made about the show’s future.

Earlier, DEA officials said Detroit was chosen from among seven other locations that included major cities and small towns throughout the country.

The series also included segments in Redford, Detroit and Sterling Heights. During the episode city leaders complained about, called “Deep Cover,” producers also spliced in segments of the other cities. Klobucher said the editing resulted in a “jumbled mess that was highly inaccurate.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Adragna at jadragna@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1101.