A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
February 4, 2016
P
LYMOUTH
- R
OMULUS
Romulus activist continues Flint water drive
A Supreme Court decision this
month ruled that a former
Plymouth Township police officer
who was shot by a fellow police
officer while attempting to appre-
hend an armed-robbery suspect
does not have the opportunity to
pursue legal recourse, after years
of legal wrangling.
The incident took place Oct. 29,
2009 when a robbery suspect was
killed by police officers from the
Western Wayne Criminal
Investigation Task Force -S.W.A.T
Team outside the Wireless USA
store on Ann Arbor Road east of
Lilley in Plymouth Township. The
S.W.A.T. Team is made up of offi-
cers frommany communities.
Court records of the incident
say the plainclothes officers were
attempting to arrest Lebron
Bronson, 45, of Canton Township
who had just robbed the store and
walked outside. Officers from the
task force claimed Bronson point-
ed a gun at them and refused
orders to drop the weapon. Shots
were fired and Bronson was pro-
nounced dead at St. Mary Mercy
Hospital inLivonia.
During the ensuing gunfire
Plymouth Township Police Ofc.
Michael Lego was shot in the back
and wounded in his left hand. He
was transported to the same hos-
pital as Bronson. Court records
show that Michigan State Police
Trooper Jake Liss fired the shots
that injured Lego. Liss' bullet
entered Lego's back and exited
through his hand, blowing off two
fingers. Lego was given a full dis-
ability retirement in 2010.
Lego and his wife, Pamela
Lego, filed suit in Wayne County
Circuit Court against Liss for gross
negligence. Liss' attorneys moved
for summary disposition, arguing
that the suit was barred by the
“Fireman's Rule,” which provides
immunity from tort liability for
injuries “arising in the normal,
inherent and foreseeable risks of
the firefighter's or police officer's
profession.”
Wayne County Circuit Court
Judge JohnH. Gillis, Jr. denied the
motion for summary disposition
andLiss appealed to theMichigan
Court of Appeals.
A ruling in the Court of
Appeals concluded in part that
Liss was not entitled to immunity
if he acted in disregard of his
police training and violated safety
procedures.
The Court of Appeals opinion
stated, “In the present case, the
parties were not members of the
same task force; rather, defendant
and members of his task force
were assisting plaintiff's task
force. Defendant offered an affi-
davit suggesting that one task
force operated under the umbrel-
la of the other; however, that
assertion was not reflected by the
written agreements. Moreover,
plaintiff and defendant were
employed by different govern-
ment entities - Plymouth
Township and the State of
Michigan. Factual questions
remained regarding whether the
parties were engaged in a joint
venture and were coemployees.
Therefore, the trial court did not
err by denying defendant's motion
for summary disposition under
MCR2.116(C)(8) and (C)(10).
Lego at the time of the inci-
dent reported to Plymouth
Township Police Chief Tom
Tiderington who described the
incident. “They (S.W.A.T. officers
had the suspect under surveil-
lance when he entered the store.
They weren't aware he was going
to commit a robbery until after the
fact. It was a stacked formation…it
was a chaotic situation.”
“When a police officer fires his
weapon, he owns the bullet,”
Tiderington said.
Lego's attorney Michael L.
Stefani argued before the
Supreme Court Justices citing the
Court of Appeals opinion. Stefani
said this case could be an exam-
ple of how a police officer should
not act, “especially a highly
trainedS.W.A.T. officer.”
“Liss' assignment was across
the street to watch was going
on…he left his position without
telling anyone and positioned
himself behind Lego…he was
positioned at the back of Officer
Lego…his finger was on the trig-
ger.”
“If it's normal, inherent and
foreseeable for one police officer
to shoot another police officer,
that is absolutely ridiculous.”
Michigan State Police Public
Information Officer Mike Shaw
reviewed both the case investiga-
tion file and the court opinions.
“It's unfortunate when you
have an officer shot in in the line
of duty under friendly fire... there
are times when things happen in
the spare of the moment. We take
our training seriously,” Shawsaid.
The Supreme Court granted
defendant Liss' application for
leave to appeal in a case that cen-
tered on the scope of the immuni-
ty provision of the firefighter's rule
disagreeing with the Court of
Appeals opinion regarding the
FirefightersRule.
“The majority essentially
determined that the defendant
might not be entitled to immunity
if his actions were especially egre-
gious: in other words, if the defen-
dant (Liss) were grossly negligent,
he would not be entitled to immu-
nity because the injury resulting
from his actions would not 'arise
from the normal, inherent, and
foreseeable risks of (Michael
Lego's) profession.'”
Chief Justice Robert P. Young,
Jr. and six Supreme Court justices
ruled in a unanimous opinion that
the Court of Appeals erred (in
part) and held that Liss was enti-
tled to immunity as a matter of
law, whether or not he acted with
any degree of recklessness and
remanded the case to the Wayne
Circuit Court for entry of an order
granting summary disposition to
Liss.
Long before themedia descend-
ed on the City of Flint to report on
the water crisis, Romulus resident
Virginia Williams was doing her
best to help out.
Through the Romulus Citizens
for Social Change (RCSC), she and
her husband have been leading
efforts to bring safe drinking water
to the residents of that city one
truckload at a time.
“We make sure the people get
it,” said Williams, who is the presi-
dent of the RCSC. “We don't drop it
off to a central location-we bring it
right to the peoplewho need it.”
She estimated that she and her
husband, with the help of his 18-
wheeler, have taken more than
12,000 cases of water to the city
since 2014, when she first tried to
alert leaders and the media of the
situation.
Now, more people in Romulus
are joining the effort. Romulus City
Councilwoman Kathy Abdo said
she and her class are collecting
change to purchase bottled water
to send to Flint. An impromptu col-
lection from the members of the
city council Monday night brought
in more than enough to purchase
another pallet for the city.
Williams said a pallet of bottled
water could be purchased at Sam's
Club for $212 or $264, depending
on the amount of the bulk pur-
chase. Because of the size of the
18-wheeler, pallets are easier to
load and keep stable than individ-
ual cases are, so the RCSC is col-
lecting funds to purchase the
water.
She also praised the many vol-
unteers that have taken the trip to
helpdistribute thewater in the two
primarily-affected zip codes. She
said that effort has involved high-
schoolers and senior citizens and
that everyone has done their part.
“We have to come together to do
this,” she said. “We as adults-no
matter what race-need to take
action. We need towork together to
try to solve this and to set a good
example for our kids.”
Williams said she hopes to have
enough to fill another truck for
another delivery soon.
The best way to help with the
effort is to contact the Romulus
Citizens for Social Change. Their
email
address
is
and the
phone number is (734) 673-8396.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Court rules wounded officer cannot sue
