LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The embattled director of Michigan’s civil rights department is taking a leave of absence after making inappropriate remarks about a woman he saw outside a meeting at a suburban Detroit middle school.
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission announced Agustin Arbulu’s leave Tuesday, without explanation.
Arbulu has faced calls to resign from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and others after a male staffer complained that he repeatedly commented about the woman’s appearance during a break from a May listening session on the reconfiguration of suburban Detroit school system.
An investigator reviewing the incident said Arbulu told her if he did make inappropriate comments, he was referring to his adult daughter.
The chairwoman of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission named Mary Engelman, deputy director of the civil rights department, acting director.
