Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is taking action to reinstate criminal charges against Michigan State Police Trooper Zachary Tebedo and Saginaw Police Officers Jordan Engelhart and Dominic Vasquez. An appeal has been filed in the 10th Circuit Court in Saginaw County to pursue this course of action.
The officers are facing charges of Willful Neglect of Duty, which were filed in August 2022.
Last month, Judge Sara Spencer-Noggle dismissed the charges in the 70th District Court, stating that the officers’ failure to intervene when a fellow officer used excessive force did not meet the legal definition of Willful Neglect of Duty. However, Attorney General Nessel strongly disagrees with the ruling.
“When these officers took the victim into their custody, they assumed a duty and obligation to keep him safe from further harm, including harm inflicted by a fellow officer,” Nessel said. “The district court judge determined that these officers did not have a legal duty to intervene in the excessive force used by another officer against a handcuffed man in their custody, and we fundamentally disagree with that conclusion.”
In March 2022, a disturbing incident took place during a routine traffic stop. A Michigan State Police trooper viciously assaulted a Saginaw man who was already handcuffed, causing him to lose consciousness. Despite calling for emergency medical services to assess the injured man, they departed after their evaluation. Shockingly, the same trooper went on to assault the man once more while trying to place him inside a Michigan State Police vehicle. Throughout these violent acts, Trooper Tebedo and Officers Engelhart and Vasquez were present but failed to intervene, raising serious concerns about their actions.
In a legal brief opposing the dismissal of charges, Nessel argued that “Tebedo and Officers Engelhart and Vasquez had a duty under the U.S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitution to protect the victim from further harm while he was handcuffed and in their custody.”
The brief also noted that the case poses significant legal issues and that “the allegations and the law cited by the People warrant a jury’s determination of whether the officers committed the crime of Willful Neglect of Duty.”
Nessel’s appeal demonstrates her opinion that accountability is required when police officers fail to act in circumstances involving excessive force. The appeal is presently under review by the 10th Circuit Court.
