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Robert Stanzler: "My anger . . . got the best of me." (Facebook photo)
Update, 12:04 p.m. Tuesday: Robert Stanzler, 50, of Ferndale, was arraigned Tuesday in Detroit's 36th District Court for spitting in the face of Ibrahim Faison, 29, of Detroit, who was working as a security guard at a business event in Eastern Market last week.
Stanzler, who is the owner of The Detroit Mercantile Co. in Eastern Market, is charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
He's free on bond and is back next week for an Aug. 2 pretrial hearing before Judge E. Lynise Bryant.
Update, 2:43 p.m. Sunday:- The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office this weekend charged Robert Stanzler with misdemeanor assault and battery for spitting at a security person on Tuesday in the 3400 block of Russell Street in Eastern Market.
Original article, Saturday:
Robert Stanzler, owner of The Detroit Mercantile Co. in Eastern Market, and the creator of the original "Made in Detroit" logo, is paying dearly for sptting.
Eastern Market Corp. has suspended his company, which peddles Detroit-related products, from selling at the market following an incident on Tuesday in which he spit in the face of someone providing security for a nearby event, Caroline Blackmon of the Detroit Free Press reports.
On Facebook, the market says:
Last Tuesday, in a dispute with a security guard from a neighboring business, Robert Stanzler, owner of Detroit Mercantile, was recorded acting in a vile and disgusting manner. We give no support to such behavior. As a result Detroit Manufacturing Co., a company also owned by Robert Stanzler, is immediately suspended from selling at the market.
The Freep reported Tuesday that Ibrahim Mission was providing security for a gathering of social justice and community leaders in Eastern Market.
Stanzler became upset that some participants were parking on his property and told Mission to stop them. When Mission told Stanzler to take it up with the building owner, Stanzler jabbed his middle finger in the air and spat on Mission's face.
The act occurred at an event space called The Eastern, which abuts the back of Stanzler's store.
Stanzler tried damage control, issuing a statement Wednesday:
“I want to express my deepest apology to Mr. Ibrahim Mission, for the incident that occurred on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 during the course of an argument I had with him over parking spaces at my place of business in Eastern Market. I take full responsibility for my actions, and want to convey regret for my gross and despicable behavior during the course of my argument with Mr. Mission.
My anger over a growing conflict pertaining to parking spaces between a neighboring business, got the best of me."
Mission tells the Freep he's not interested in the apology, saying Stanzler didn't voice regret the day of incident.
“That didn’t happen,” Mission asserted. “He didn’t call me or reach out to me, and I don’t want him to, quite frankly. I do not want him near me. I don’t want any of his friends to keep bothering me. Somebody walked up to me (while I was at work) and started to tell me about how Robert had had a stroke before.”
Meanwhile, Dearborn-based Carhartt said its products will no longer be sold at the offender's business.
Detroit Police submitted a warrant request to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office on Friday in the spitting incident, the Freep reports.
The business' website says:
Proprietor Robert Stanzler is a fourth-generation Detroiter whose great-grandfather migrated here from Poland to work at the Ford Model T assembly plant.
The creator of the original Made In Detroit logo and brand, current owner of Detroit Manufacturing – Robert has defined what it means to wear your heart on your sleeve, or back, or chest. His love of the City of Detroit is unequaled.
