On June 14, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced a new round of charges being filed against local and state officials, officers, and employees in Flint, MI. In the most serious charges leveled to date, five individuals have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The charges are related to a 17-month Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in 2014 and 2015, which resulted in the deaths of 12 people and dozens more stricken with the illness. Investigations are continuing. Attorney General Schuette has attempted to interview Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, but to date has been unsuccessful.
Those charged include Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Nick Lyon, who has been charged with several felonies including misconduct in office and involuntary manslaughter. The state’s chief medical executive, Dr. Eden Wells, has been charged with obstruction of justice and lying to a police officer. The state health department released a statement from Governor Snyder saying that he stands behind Lyon and Dr. Wells, and that they will remain in their jobs pending trail.
Four other individuals previously charged with a number of other felonies and misdemeanors have now been charged with involuntary manslaughter. These include Darnell Earley, Flint’s former emergency manager, Howard Croft, Flint’s former public works director, Liane Shekter-Smith, the state’s former head of the Department of Environmental Quality’s Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance unit, and Stephen Busch, a district supervisor for Department of Environmental Quality’s Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance unit.
Water quality problems in Flint began after the city switched its water supply from Lake Huron to water from the Flint River.
