By Staff Writer
Mary Drier
MIDLAND — A judicial appointment in Midland County is putting an investigation of alleged wrongdoing by three former Bay City Police officers, one of which lives in Tuscola County, in limbo for awhile.
The investigation report was referred to Midland Prosecutor Michael Carpenter to review for possible criminal charges. However, Carpenter has since been appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder as judge of Midland’s 75th District Court. He fills a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Hart.
Carpenter will take the bench the first of the year. Because of that appointment, he is no longer investigating the complaints against the three police officers.
Because of the appointment, the prosecutor’s office is influx and workloads will be shifted. At this point, the office isn’t sure who will pick up the investigation of former Bay City Police officers Brian Ritchey, of Akron, Don Aldrich, and Keath Bartynski for possible criminal charges regarding their actions during an incident on May 1 and 2 at Steamer’s Pub 108 N. Linn St., Bay City, where Joshua Elzinga’s cell phone ended up missing after he was allegedly accosted by those officers.
The cell phone incident started when Elzinga noticed a police vehicle, allegedly driven by Ritchey, parked on the wrong side of the street. He took a photo of it and placed it on Facebook with the post, “Bay City’s finest illegally parked so hey can flirt with a Bay City bartender, keep it up Brian Ritchey… you’re doing our city proud.”
Initially, the incident was just clowning-around comments between the victim, Ritchey, and Aldrich, who off duty and also at the bar, about his being a “marked man” and to “step outside…” etc.., but the good-natured mood changed when Ritchey left the bar and returned with Bartynski.
A report of the incident noted that: the officers started putting hands on Elzinga pushing him against the bar, twisted his arm behind his back, taking outside, searching him, and placed him in the cruiser before eventually releasing him. He tried recording that incident on his cell phone but it taken out of his hand and hasn’t been seen since.
Others in the bar also video recorded the incident on their cell phones.
The three officers were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, and they each resigned June 17.
The 148-page internal investigation report confirms Elzinga’s 13 allegations of “misconduct” by the former officers. Because they had resigned, the department took no action against them.
However, there could be criminal charges. Whichever Midland County Prosecutor is assigned the case will review the internal report, interview witnesses and the cell phone video recorded by others to determine if there is any criminal wrongdoing.
The Bay County Prosecutor’s office sent the report on the incident to the Michigan Attorney General’s office to avoid conflict of interest. From there the case went to the Michigan Prosecuting Attorney’s Coordinating Council where it was assigned to Carpenter.
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.