Criminal Charges in Flint Water Crisis

Update: As of 10:30 a.m. on April 20, Genesee District Court Judge Tracy Collier-Nix officially authorized charges against one city employee and two state employees. Flint employee Michael Glasgow is charged with tampering with evidence and wilfull neglect of office, and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees Steven Busch and Michael Prysby are charged with tampering with evidence and misconduct in office, among other charges. Read more at Mlive.

Up to four people may face felony and misdemeanor charges from Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette for their role in the Flint water crisis, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Schuette, whose office has been investigating the crisis since January, is expected to announce the charges at a news conference at 1 p.m. on April 20.

READ: How the Flint Water Crisis Opened America’s Eyes to Environmental Injustice

Gov. Rick Snyder announced on April 18 that he would drink Flint tap water for 30 days, in an effort to defend the quality of the city's water supply. Despite receiving widespread public criticism, Snyder is not expected to be among those charged today.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Officials believe the city got artificially low lead readings because they didn't test the homes most at risk — those with lead service lines or other features putting them at high risk for lead. Among those to be charged is a City of Flint official who signed a document saying the homes Flint used to test tap water under the federal Lead and Copper Rule all had lead service lines — a statement investigators allege was false.

Schuette is to announce felony and misdemeanor charges against at least two, and possibly as many as four people, according to two other sources familiar with the investigation. The investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected, sources said.

The charges, which will be brought against individuals connected with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Flint, relate to the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water and not to the possible link between Flint River water and an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that is tied to the deaths of 12 people, one of the sources said.

Flint's water has been contaminated since April 2014, when the city switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Its residents continue to use filters and drink bottled water.

Read more at the Detroit Free Press.