Statement from state Representative Sheldon Neeley (D-Flint) on his request for a legal opinion from Attorney General Bill Schuette in regard to the Flint water crisis:

“I have sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Schuette to ask whether an official, in the course of his or her duties, withholding information that leads to death or physical harm rises to the level of a criminal act. In light of the new information we received after this latest release of emails from the Snyder administration, we need to know whether criminal charges are warranted when death and bodily harm are the result. The people of Flint deserve to know whether elected and appointed officials at the state level had knowledge of a public health emergency. If a failure of government results in harm coming to people, the proper course of action is to determine what level of liability, up to and including criminal charges, is appropriate to hold those officials to account.”