Michigan
Vroom, vroom. Disbanded Michigan State Police motorcycle unit to return this spring
LANSING — The Michigan State Police is bringing back its motorcycle unit in metro Detroit, in a move aimed at improving traffic safety that may also lift trooper morale and aid recruitment.
Col. James Grady, the new MSP director, announced the return of the motorcycle unit in a memo last week.
Grady’s predecessor, Col. Joseph Gasper, disbanded the unit after the 2022 motorcycle season.
Grady said in the memo he decided to bring the motorcycles back “after considerable assessment.” The unit will be based in the 2nd District, which covers Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties, and have seven troopers and one sergeant, he said.
The unit’s “primary mission will be traffic enforcement, specifically working to reduce the number of fatal crashes by focusing on hazardous actions,” Grady said. The unit “will also serve a community engagement and recruitment purpose.”
Trooper safety was among the reasons cited by First Lt. Mike Shaw when the police motorcycles were removed from the road. Two MSP troopers on motorcycles have died in the line of duty since 2015.
Shaw said Wednesday that the broader issue of public traffic safety is of critical importance. Policing can be a dangerous job and troopers have also been killed or injured in patrol cars, he said. The motorcycles will not be returning to the roads until spring and the MSP will work in the meantime to make sure all necessary safety measures are in place to ensure maximum trooper safety, Shaw said.
More: Firings, retirements result from MSP internal investigation that began at Flint post
Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for the MSP, said the department still has the BMW motorcycles it was using through 2022 and those bikes, which are from the 2020 to 2022 model years, will return to the road.
In a controversial move in 2012, the MSP began switching from American-made Harley-Davidson motorcycles to German-made BMWs, saying the BMWs performed better in testing.
At that time, the MSP had a fleet of 24 motorcycles, located in metro Detroit, Rockford, and Lansing.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.
Michigan
Michigan man pleads no contest to sending threatening emails to Gov. Whitmer
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – A Michigan man pleaded no contest to sending threatening emails to Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Jason Tolonen, a 51-year-old from Westland, pleaded no contest to one count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime and one count of Malicious Use of a Telecommunications Services.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Tolonen repeatedly sent “nonsensical, harassing, racist, and threatening” emails to Whitmer’s constituent portal for years.
In November 2023, Michigan State Police searched Tolonen’s home after a threat to “assassinate the president or your governor.” Tolonen admitted to sending the messages. Nessel said he resumed sending similar emails in February 2024.
“Elected officials deserve to serve Michiganders free of fear, and violent threats directed at public servants cannot be normalized,” said Nessel. “I commend Michigan State Police for taking these threats seriously, and my department remains committed to prosecuting these disturbing offenses.”
Tolonen will be required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and refrain from repeated, unwanted contact with any individual, business or governmental entity. Nessel said he would also submit to mental health and substance abuse evaluations, and any recommendation would be incorporated into his sentence.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12 at 9 a.m.
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Michigan
Ohio State AD thinks Michigan’s wins should have asterisk amid sign-stealing scandal
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith didn’t leave any doubt what he thought of Michigan’s recent three-game winning streak against the Buckeyes on the football field. They shouldn’t count at all, given the Wolverines’ recent sign-stealing allegations.
When asked by Ohio State’s NPR affiliate if Michigan’s wins should come with an asterisk, he joked: “Of course I do.”
“The rules are in place to protect the integrity of the game and try our best to create a level playing field,” Smith said on All Sides with Anna Staver. “When those rules are violated, then it affects those principles. We have to keep that in perspective.”
Ohio State won 17 of the 24 editions of The Game in the 21st century, including an eight-game win streak culminating in a 59-27 rout in 2019, but Jim Harbaugh led Michigan to three straight decisive victories over the Buckeyes, winning the national championship last season.
But the Wolverines were also the subject of NCAA investigations, most notably the sign-stealing scheme alleged to have been perpetrated by former UM staffer Connor Stalions that resulted in a three-game suspension for Harbaugh to finish the regular season last year.
The NCAA’s investigation into those claims remains open.
Smith will retire from Ohio State in July after leading its athletic department since 2005, and his final season at the school will find the Buckeyes hosting the Wolverines in Columbus, with the very early consensus being that OSU will be favored in the game.
“We host that team up north this fall, and I’m assuming it’ll be what it’s always been,” Smith said.
“The last time that we had the level of interest in that game was 2006 with No. 1 vs. No. 2. This year, it probably won’t be No. 1 vs. No. 2, but it’ll be No. 1 vs. Somebody, and we need to pack that place. Be in your seat early. Don’t wait until the kickoff. Be in your seat early.”
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Michigan
Pilot suffers minor injuries after small plane crash in Michigan
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