FLINT (WWJ/AP) - Prosecutors who dropped charges against eight people in the Flint water scandal will talk about the decision in a public forum.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud will speak to the public Friday night at a Flint union hall, two weeks after dismissing charges against former Michigan health director Nick Lyon and other officials.
Hammoud of the attorney general's office took over the investigation of Flint's lead-contaminated water in January. Worthy also joined the effort. They said charges were dropped because the previous team didn't properly pursue evidence and overlooked loads of records. A new investigation was launched and charges could be refiled.
Residents in attendance will be able to ask questions. The event takes place 6-8 p.m. (doors open at 5:30) at the UAW Local 659 Hall, 4549 Van Slyke Road.
If you can't make the event, you can watch on Facebook Live: facebook.com/MIAttorneyGeneral.
The water crisis in Flint was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in U.S. history. Flint's water was deemed undrinkable after it became contaminated when the struggling city switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River in 2014 as a cost-cutting move. The corrosive water lacked adequate treatment and caused lead to leach from old pipes and into Flint's homes and businesses while financial managers were running the city.
Those who had charges dismissed include former health director Nick Lyon and former chief medical executive Eden Wells, both accused of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly failing to alert the public in a timely fashion about an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. The others include former Flint emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley, as well as Patrick Cook, Howard Croft, Nancy Peeler and Robert Scott.
Seven other people charged in the case pleaded no contest to misdemeanors and will eventually have their records scrubbed clean. No one is serving jail time.
