FLINT, Mich. – Since announcing they were dismissing all outstanding charges in the Flint water investigation, the new team in charge of the criminal cases lead by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud came to Flint for a town hall meeting.
MORE: Flint water investigation to start over as all pending charges dismissed
During the meeting, they explained they dismissed the charges because they found the prior investigation to be incomplete.
“When I looked at the information I had never seen anything like it,” Worthy said.
She and Hammoud maintain the former team under then Attorney General Bill Schuette only collected a sliver of the relevant evidence. So much so, the new team has to start from scratch. Examples they gave include the prior team getting warrants for five cellphones or other electronic devices. Their team got warrants for more than 600.
The crowd that came to hear them was not particularly large, but it was vocal.
“My heart is heavy,” Flint resident Mary Joyce Campbell said. “I cannot believe something like this can happen.”
“With this news today I feel like I’ve been hit in the back of the head with a two by four,” Linda Brown said.
Worthy and Hammoud did not promise prosecutions; what they did promise is to go where the evidence takes them.