‘He was racially profiling me.’ Man charged after dispute in condo complex

By Carolyn Clifford

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    LIVONIA, Michigan (WXYZ) — We’re digging into a dispute between a retired Detroit police detective and a Livonia resident — after an encounter inside a condo complex left both men pointing fingers.

Marcellus Ball spent 35 years with the Detroit Police Department, retiring as a detective, and he was even honored at the White House.

However, earlier this year, while searching for a condo in Livonia, he says he faced something he never expected.

Ball says 51-year-old Edward Dombrowski confronted him, questioning why he was there.

“Basically, he was racially profiling me. He was telling me, ‘What was I doing over here? You don’t live here. We don’t want you here,'” Ball said.

Feeling uneasy, he began recording. He says Dombrowski had a knife in his pocket, something that was confirmed on a 911 call.

By the time police arrived, Dombrowski had walked away and Ball was told to leave.

Later, police asked if Ball wanted to press charges, but without a name, he posted the video online. It quickly drew hundreds of responses.

When we met Ball back at the complex for an interview, Dombrowski walked right up. When we asked him why he confronted Ball, his answer pointed to suspicion.

“Why would you feel so hostile toward someone like Marcellus Ball pulling up into your condo complex?” I asked.

“Well, Marcellus didn’t have a very cogent story to offer me about his presence here with his Volvo,” he said.

Dombrowski admits he always carries a knife, but denies showing it to Ball. Still, he acknowledges confronting others before, including an African American food delivery driver.

“As a matter of fact, yeah, one of the delivery people came through. His name was Ezekiel, Ezekiel, African American,” he said.

“And you confronted him?” I asked.

“Yeah, it was 2 in the morning,” he said.

“You have an association, right? Are they OK with you confronting people?” I asked.

“They are absolutely blindsided by Marcellus,” he said.

But, the Villas Condo Association says otherwise, telling us Dombrowski has no authority to confront anyone.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged him with disorderly person and disturbing the peace. We were there for his first court appearance.

His court-appointed attorney said he was suffering from a mental illness, was off his medication and undergoing anger management. Livonia 16th District Court Judge Paul Bernier fired back.

“That’s not an anger management issue, that’s racism,” Bernier said.

At the end of our interview, neither Ball nor Dombrowski would apologize to one another, but Ball did say he would pray for Dombrowski and he said he would do the same.

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