Detroit – Utility pole problems on Detroit’s west side are becoming such a safety concern for one family they no longer feel safe in their yard or parking cars in their driveway.

The issue is a pole ready to fall, and the other is who is responsible.

The pole that caused the most concern on Thursday (Oct. 3) is located on Coyle Street, on the west side.

Angela called Help Me Hank because she was worried for her safety.

“It’s been a headache,” said Angela. “It’s been people at least five different people each day to speak to someone, and I’ve been doing this for three weeks. I have two different ticket numbers, and it’s just been crazy.”

DTE crews were putting in a new pole a few weeks ago. That’s the good news. The bad news is the pole several companies share was left behind, causing chaos as it looks like it is ready to tip.

“We have an old pole that’s cracked,” Angela said. “DTE came and switched the pole out. Now, I’m fighting to find out who owns the pole and who’s coming to get it out of my backyard. It’s cracked at the bottom, and it’s dangerous.”

Angela contacted DTE, Consumers Energy, AT&T, and Comcast, but she couldn’t get a straight answer about who was responsible for the danger near her driveway.

“Now we need to leave our cars on the street, which we don’t do,” Angela said. “We have three cars and we are struggling each and every day to park our cars. And it’s been going on for at least three and a half weeks now.

Help Me Hank started making calls, and DTE jumped into action. The utility company does not own the pole, but it has taken action to make the situation safer.

The old pole is gone, and Angela is ecstatic as she can now live safely.

“I am so happy, as it took me months to get nowhere,” Angela said. “Hank got it done in hours. Thank you so much, Hank. Hank to the rescue. Go Detroit Lions and go Detroit Tigers.”

“Frequently, our poles are used for not only electric wires, but for cable, internet and phone wires as well. When we install a new pole, we move our wires and wait for the communications companies to move their equipment to the new pole before completely removing the old pole. As a courtesy to this customer, we transferred the communications lines so the old power pole could be fully removed.”

DTE Media Relations

MILWAUKEE — After threatening to take the District Attorney’s Office to court, TMJ4 has obtained a full copy of Milwaukee County’s “Brady” list.

The list contains nearly 200 officers – a majority (roughly 150) are from the Milwaukee Police Department.

The District Attorney’s Office finally released a complete copy of the list, which tracks problematic law enforcement officials, after denying multiple open record requests from TMJ4 this year.

TMJ4 battling Milwaukee County DA for keeping ‘Brady’ list secret

Officials finally produced the information after the news station hired an attorney and threatened to sue the county if it continued to keep the full “Brady” list a secret.

The station is currently reviewing the names and corresponding information and plans to publish the list in the coming weeks. In a letter outlining the release of its own “Brady” list, the District Attorney’s Office did not guarantee its accuracy.

“This office makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the record: all data should be confirmed by review of public records,” wrote Sara Sadowski, an Assistant District Attorney.”

The “Brady” list gets its name from a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case.

In 1964, the court ruled in Brady v. Maryland that officials can’t hide exculpatory information in criminal cases. It’s why many prosecutorial agencies keep “Brady” lists to track law enforcement officers with documented histories of dishonesty, criminal activity, bias, and other integrity concerns.

Milwaukee County’s “Brady” list includes 170 officers, who have either been charged or convicted in criminal cases.

But the list only includes a couple dozen entries tied to internal misconduct investigations.

Legal experts said that raises serious questions as to whether Milwaukee County has been keeping a legitimate and robust list.

Ghosted: Experts say TMJ4 reports raise serious accountability and transparency concerns

TMJ4 requested the “Brady” list as part of its “Ghosted” investigation.

The series involved a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputy with a history of repeated misconduct, including five suspensions, records show. In 2016, the deputy was suspended for going to a Walgreens drunk and making “racially inflammatory remarks” to Black people.

Records show witnesses said he yelled “Why do Black lives matter?” and “You’re going to f***ing explain to me, just fess up for your people, what the f*** do I owe you people?”

The Sheriff’s Office told TMJ4 the deputy was not on the “Brady” list.

In a previous TMJ4 report, ACLU Wisconsin President William Sultan said that conduct should absolutely land on the “Brady” list.

“It also demonstrates a failure on the law enforcement agency to effectively discipline its employee,” he said. “I think we can all agree that people exhibiting racist behavior should no longer be police officers.”

Sultan believes the case also signals much bigger issues with how Milwaukee County tracks officers with integrity issues.

“It means there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of officers in our state that have demonstrated similar bias, untrustworthiness, that the public doesn’t know about,” he said.

[Editor’s note: Dave Biscobing is Chief Investigative Reporter for KNXV-TV (TMJ4’s sister station) in Phoenix, AZ and a corporate trainer for Scripps investigative news teams. For this story, he can be reached at David.Biscobing@TMJ4.com. TMJ4 Lighthouse Reporter Ben Jordan is also reporting on this issue and can be reached at Ben.Jordan@TMJ4.com. ]

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MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man has been charged in an attack at a Minneapolis homeless shelter in September that left three people injured. 

These charges come after a different man was mistakenly identified as the suspect and was charged. The charges were dropped against that man by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office when the mistake was learned. 

READ MORE: Homeless shelter attacked in Minneapolis, 2 facing charges

Travin Willie Merritt, 30, has now been charged for his role in the attack. He is charged with four counts of second-degree assault, one count of second-degree riot and one count of carrying a gun without a permit. 

Attack caught on camera

According to the charges, Minneapolis police responded to a disturbance outside of St. Anne’s Place, a homeless shelter for women and children in the city on Sept. 5. Once officers arrived at the scene, they found multiple people standing outside the building. Police then reviewed surveillance footage of the incident. 

Surveillance footage shows the group of victims running into the shelter, and a few minutes later, Merritt walks towards the building and points a firearm at the door, court documents say. 

Two of the victims, one of them holding an infant, were just inside the door where Merritt was allegedly pointing his firearm, the charges said. 

Merritt then fires his gun at one of the victim’s unoccupied cars. 

Earlier altercation

According to the charges, one of the victims told officers she and another victim had gotten into an earlier altercation with a group of women across the street from the shelter. 

The group of women had reportedly come out of their house, yelling at the victim to move her car. The altercation then became physical. At some point during the altercation, Merritt became involved and hit one of the victims in the face and back of the head with his gun, court documents say. 

He also hit another victim several times in the back of the head and fired two shots in the air. 

The victims then retreated into the shelter as they were being chased by a group of women. An employee of St. Anne’s Place told officers she helped the victims close the door behind them, so the group couldn’t chase them inside. The employee then reportedly heard Merritt threaten to shoot the women and children. 

Suspect misidentified

The male suspect was previously mistakenly identified as a different man, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said. The other man has a similar physical description, vehicle, and has a known relationship with Merritt’s co-defendant, Eureka Riser. 

The investigation ultimately showed that the other man was at a different location at the time of the incident and was not involved. So the charges were dropped against him. 

Riser was charged with second-degree riot and criminal damage to property for her role in the attack. Riser used a baseball bat to hit the front door of St. Anne’s Place during the altercation, causing around $10,000 in damage.

What’s next? 

Merritt will have his first court appearance on Oct. 4. Riser’s next court appearance is on Nov. 6.