Michigan Official Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter
Published on 6/14/2017
ick Lyon, head of the Michigan’s Health Department, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to Flint’s tainted water crisis.
The court document states: “Defendant Lyon exhibited gross negligence when he failed to alert the public about the deadly outbreak and by taking steps to suppress information illustrating obvious and apparent harms that were likely to result in serious injury. Defendant Lyon willfully disregarded the deadly nature of the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak.”
Mr. Lyon was also charged with misconduct in office.
Attorney General Bill Schuette also charged four other state and city officials, who already were facing various criminal accusations, with involuntary manslaughter: Stephen Busch, a water supervisor for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; Darnell Earley, who had been a state-appointed emergency manager for Flint; Howard Croft, former director of the city’s public works department; and Liane Shekter-Smith, who served as chief of the state’s Office of Drinking Water