Kevin Dietz, a hard-hitting reporter who has covered some of metro Detroit's biggest stories over a 26-year career at WDIV-TV (Channel 4), said he has been fired following a comment he made about a black reporter at the recent Investigative Reporters & Editors conference in Houston.

Dietz, in a Facebook post just before 11 p.m. Monday, said the incident happened while he and other WDIV staffers were taking a photo.

He said the black reporter who was present said he was not offended and came to his defense, but the station has a zero-tolerance policy about racially insensitive remarks.

In a statement issued Monday night, the station described Dietz's departure as a resignation.

“Kevin Dietz has resigned from WDIV effective immediately," the station said. "We’ve had a long relationship with Kevin and we wish him well. Personnel issues such as this are respectfully private and we will have no further comment.”

Marla Drutz, vice president and general manager of WDIV-TV, declined to bcomment further.

In his Facebook post, Dietz said, "While attending a social event during the conference, we took a WDIV team photo and I jokingly said to the group 'We are probably going to have to crop the black reporter out of the photo.' The intent of my comment was to openly acknowledge, amongst team members, the challenge it’s been for our company, and many companies, to achieve diversity goals. This is a serious subject that I approached through humor.

"Nevertheless, the station has a zero tolerance policy on racially insensitive comments and they determined, despite the intent and context of my statement, that it violated the policy. I understand and support the need for such policies."

Dietz went on to say the reporter "was not offended, there was no 'caught on camera' situation, no social media controversy, and no complaints of any kind about the comment at the time."

Still, he said the comment "made it back to the water cooler conversation at WDIV" and "quickly took on a life of its own."

"It is important to include the fact that alcohol was provided at this event and, according to management, was a factor in my termination," Dietz said.

Dietz said the reporter went to human resources and stood up for him. The reporter, he said, "expressed that we are friends, conveyed to them all the help I have given him throughout his career, and the long list of stories I have done on television fighting against racism in Michigan."

Dietz apologized.

"I regret the fact that it happened, and apologize to anyone I might have offended," he wrote. "I love Detroit and everyone who calls it 'home.' Every situation creates opportunity for personal growth, and that is how I view this event in my life."

Dietz has been at the station since June 1993. He joined the Local 4 Defenders Investigative Unit in 1996, according to his profile on the station's website.

With a style that could be in-your-face, Dietz has reported extensively on high-profile topics such as the Oakland County Child Killer, the saga of "White Boy" Rick Wershe Jr., and the Flint water crisis.

"During his career, Kevin has covered the Persian Gulf War from Saudi Arabia, flew a fighter jet with the famous Blue Angels, visited the devastating hurricanes that pummeled the Florida coast and reported live at the scene of a Michigan man put to death in the electric chair after being found guilty of murder in Georgia," reads his profile.

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"But his proudest moment came when he helped clear a 13-year-old girl of murder charges by showing how the 5-year-old neighbor whom she was accused of killing suffered from seizures and actually drowned in the bathtub."

Dietz has won 15 Michigan Emmys, including two this year for investigations of police brutality in Inkster and a jail death in Macomb County, according to his profile. He won regional Edward R. Murrow awards for the jail death series and for his coverage of disgraced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Dietz said in his profile that he loved meeting the people behind the news.

"My favorite part of this job is meeting local Detroiters with incredible stories or inspirational lives. I meet people from all walks of life who teach me what's important in life and how to become a better person," he said.

In 2013, Dietz made headlines himself. He was jailed under Michigan's "super drunk" law after being cited that February in Bloomfield Township for driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17% or higher, according to Michigan Secretary of State records. At the time, Dietz apologized to his family, WDIV and viewers in a statement that was posted on the station's website.

Dietz, a lifelong Michigander, was born in Detroit and grew up in Bloomfield Hills. He attended Birmingham Brother Rice High School and graduated from Western Michigan University.

Dietz closed his Monday night Facebook post by saying he is looking toward the future.

"Soon enough I will start the first day of the rest of my professional career," he wrote. "I am surprisingly optimistic and excited about this new challenge and opportunity. I am proud of my long standing efforts to support and showcase diversity in our community.

"I am even more proud of my 30-year record of broadcast reporting that has helped thousands of people without the voice, power or platform to help themselves."

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.