Great Lakes Wire

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed an appeal in the 10th Circuit Court in Saginaw County. The appeal seeks to reinstate criminal charges against Michigan State Police Trooper Zachary Tebedo and Saginaw Police Officers Jordan Engelhart and Dominic Vasquez. These charges, initially brought in August 2022, involve one count each of Willful Neglect of Duty.

Last month, Judge Sara Spencer-Noggle dismissed the charges in the 70th District Court. The judge ruled that the officers' failure to intervene when another officer used excessive force did not constitute Willful Neglect of Duty. However, Attorney General Nessel disagrees with this decision.

"When these officers took the victim into their custody, they assumed a duty and obligation to keep him safe from further harm, and that includes further harm perpetrated by a fellow officer," said Nessel. "The district court judge ruled these officers did not have a legal duty to intervene in the criminal use of excessive force by another officer against a handcuffed man in their custody, and we plainly disagree."

The incident occurred following a traffic stop in March 2022. An MSP Trooper assaulted a Saginaw man while he was handcuffed, knocking him unconscious. Although emergency medical services were called to evaluate him, they left after assessment. The same trooper then assaulted the man again while trying to secure him in an MSP vehicle. During both assaults, Trooper Tebedo and Officers Engelhart and Vasquez were present but did not intervene.

Nessel's brief opposing dismissal argued that "Tebedo and Officers Engelhart and Vasquez had a duty based on the U.S. Constitution as well as the Michigan Constitution to protect" the victim "from further harm while he was handcuffed and in their custody." The brief also concluded that "at a minimum the allegations and the law cited by the People raise a question of fact for a jury of the officer’s peers to decide whether they have committed the crime of Willful Neglect of Duty."

A reminder is noted: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.