Public works director says video doesn't tell whole story of trash dumping incident

Director Ron Brundidge says truck malfunctioned, trash pile was later cleaned up

DETROIT – The director of Detroit's Department of Public Works says a video that has surfaced on Facebook of a city garbage truck dumping trash in a neighborhood isn't what it appears.

Director Ron Brundidge said the video is of an incident that happened Monday night on Leonard Street, between Annabelle and Pleasant streets.

The cellphone video shows the truck leaving a pile of trash on the side of the neighborhood road. The video sparked angry comments from residents who complained about the city only adding to the city's blight.

"We have verified that the compactor on the back of the truck had malfunctioned and got stuck open, causing trash to fall on the street as the truck drove along.  The supervisor in the video directed the driver to a nearby lot to dump the portion of the trash that was stuck in the compactor in one spot, rather than leave a trail of trash along its route," Brundidge said.

He added that another city crew went back an hour later to remove the trash

"At this point, we are satisfied that the employees in the video did the proper thing, given the circumstances," Brundidge said.