According to the Detroit News:
Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies are protecting the city’s major bus routes, just a day after drivers staged a wildcat strike leaving thousands of Detroiters without transportation.
Uniformed county deputies began policing the buses at 4 p.m. Thursday, about four hours after the Detroit City Council narrowly approved a contract with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. The issue lingered for months because most of the council wanted Detroit Police officers on the routes.
Detroit’s buses have been without police protection since 2005, when police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings pulled the 45 officers assigned to bus routes and placed them on street patrol.
The deputies will be paid with an $11.7 million federal grant. The Wayne County Commission, however, must approve the contract within 60 days in order for the county to continue the patrols through 2010. Wayne County Commission Chairwoman Jewel Ware, D-Detroit, on Thursday executed a 60-day emergency agreement to place deputies on buses.