Eviction Escalation in Grant Township

[XLFD]

Mason county's justice system and law enforcement is out of control.  An article written by Patti Klevorn of the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) tells a story that illustrates this.  This article is reprinted in it's entirety below for analysis. 

A series of errors by legal professionals may have a 56 year old Amber Township man sitting behind bars for the rest of his life, because the system failed to protect his rights.  It starts off with a process server coming by 'his home' to serve him eviction papers.  The guy doesn't come to the door to accept the process, so the server calls for police assistance.

As a former apartment manager, I've had to go through the routine of serving eviction papers to deadbeat tenants, so I can commiserate with the frustration of the server.  However, the man had a legal right not to come to the door to receive the eviction.  The server should have let it go, and tried again.  When the MCSO arrived they should have explained to the process server (who could be a professional or just a normal person) that they cannot force the man to open the door and be served. 

According to the article, the deputies were talking with the man at his door when he made a reference to shooting.  From the circumstances, it would probably have been something like "Get off my property, or I will start shooting."  The article is unclear and taken from the deputies involved, which makes me think that it wasn't a hard threat. 

What was threatening was that the deputies then invaded the man's home, escalating the situation and likely violating the man's Fourth Amendment rights to be secure in his home.  I say likely, because mentioning 'shooting' in a non-specific way would usually not rise to an exigent circumstance to have law enforcement operatives invade a person's house absent of a warrant.  They received a felony arrest warrant shortly thereafter on the basis of the man's defense of his homestead.

As we sort through the verifiable facts, let's not forget how the Mason County Sheriff's Office escalated simple traffic stops, attacking innocent vehicle passengers, Kimberly Septrion, and Joseph McAdam and charging them with serious crimes when they were actually the victim of serious crimes conducted by the MCSO.  Thankfully, we have tapes of those encounters; it is yet unknown whether we will have records of this interaction that went bad, that would indicate whether there were any threats and whether it was legitimate for the deputies to do what they did.

Perhaps if we do, we can once again observe how poorly our county trains its deputies.  We will try to update this story as new information comes in.  There is a fair possibility that the process server worked for the MCSO, here is what they provide to landlords concerning this service.  If that was the case, they surely should know their bounds and not have to call for backup to serve process papers.

Ambulances from Grant Township Fire & Rescue and Life EMS block Amber Road at Countyline Road in Mason County's Grant Township Friday afternoon as they wait to hear if they are needed at the scene in which Mason County Sheriff's Office deputies say a man threatened to shoot them. 

GRANT TOWNSHIP — What started as service of an eviction notice ended in a 56-year-old man threatening to shoot Mason County sheriff’s deputies Friday afternoon. 

It could have ended much worse, Sheriff Kim Cole said. 

No shots were fired and no one was hurt or killed. 

“There is nothing to indicate the community is at risk,” Cole said. 

He does not have a violent criminal history, deputies determined, and they are learning more about him personally now through communication with people who are familiar with him. 

There is an arrest warrant for the man and the department is taking this time to re-evaluate the situation and let the man’s emotions settle. How and when he’ll be arrested is to be determined. 

“The arrest warrant is not going to go away,” Cole said. 

Two deputies were at the scene of the North Amber Road residence after they were called to assist a process server when the man refused to come to the door for the server to give an eviction court order.

The home is in foreclosure. 

Deputies went to the door of the home in the rural area off Countyline Road Friday. The man made a comment about shooting and went back into the house. The deputies went in after him. 

“He made it into a bedroom and again said something about shooting at them, and he could be heard racking a weapon,” Cole said. 

The deputies called in for assistance and together the Mason County Sheriff's Office, Manistee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Michigan State Police troopers set up a perimeter around the house. 

The man was suicidal, according to information being shared with officers through Mason-Oceana 911.

Life EMS and Grant Township Fire & Rescue personnel responded and were available, staging at the Countyline and Amber roads intersection in case they were needed. 

In the meantime, an arrest warrant for felonious assault was secured, due to the man’s threat of shooting at the deputies, Cole said.

“The deputies perceived it as a very legitimate threat,” Cole said. 

Evaluating the situation, Cole said he decided against a SWAT team, believing it was the safest for everyone to leave the scene, let the man calm down and find out more information before proceeding any further. 

“The things you have to consider include the officers’ and this person’s mindset,” Cole said. “There was a high probability of this ending badly today. We’re going to sit back and re-evaluate.”

The man has an unrelated civil warrant for his arrest, as well, but there was no indication of a previous violent history Friday afternoon, Cole said.

The officers all left the scene about 4:30 p.m.

The man was in the home alone and there was no hostage situation, Cole said. 

http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/news/local/artic...

[stump]

I'm glad the trigger happy cops didn't blow him away like so many we read about daily. When your down and out there seems like it's all coming to a end what are you going to do when they take it all, your home.I know if you don't make the payments you have to move. I don't know what this guy's abilities are and if he could find another job. There are a lot of jobs out there , maybe not for a 55 year old. Hope he gets some mental help and somebody will get him back on track. Happy ending ? maybe the court said we'll give you a little fine if you don't sue the county police for illegal entry.

[Willy]

I wonder what the ending of the story would have been if the gentleman had been black or the Founder/Editor of the Ludington Torch.

[XLFD]

Are you suggesting that "Torch lives matter" too, Willy?  LOL

I don't foresee myself getting into a similar situation, but if I was I would have likely been blown away after informing them of their unconstitutional actions after saying "I am not resisting, these jackboots have entered my house without my permission.  I have no weapon, I have made no threat." 

Hopefully, the video would survive.

[Willy]

I was just making the assumption that if certain people were in the crosshairs of the police for whatever reason that the final outcome would probably result in lead poisoning.