LANSING — Two unions representing Michigan State Police troopers and command officers filed a complaint with the State Board of Ethics on Tuesday, alleging misconduct by the agency’s top leadership.
The complaint marks an escalation in ongoing discord between MSP officers and the agency’s director, Col. James Grady.
Paul Pummill, executive director of the Michigan State Police Command Officers Association, said in an email to members Tuesday that after a lengthy investigation into “alleged misconduct of our department’s leadership,” his association and the Michigan State Police Troopers Association had filed a formal complaint with the state ethics board, along with the Michigan Attorney General. A copy of the email was obtained by the Free Press. A similar email, also obtained by the Free Press, was sent to troopers by MSPTA President Nate Johnson.
In a Wednesday text message, Pummill confirmed the emails to members were authentic but declined further comment. It wasn’t clear whether the unions were seeking a separate investigation from the Attorney General’s Office or simply copying the AG with the complaint sent to the ethics board.
Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the State Board of Ethics, confirmed the board received a complaint from the police unions Tuesday afternoon and is next scheduled to meet on March 6, when it could take up the complaint. Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for a copy of the complaint.
Pummill did not disclose in the email who in MSP leadership was the subject of the complaint or details about any alleged ethical violations. He told members he was withholding that information for the time being to protect the integrity of the complaint process. Johnson, from the troopers association, did not respond to an email Wednesday.
Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for the MSP, said in response to news of the complaint being filed, that “integrity is a core characteristic of the Michigan State Police,” and “we are confident all actions by department leadership were in line with the State of Michigan’s ethics standards.”
Grady was named director of the MSP in September 2023 and complaints about him from the two unions became public in the spring of 2024. In May of last year, the troopers association said in a memo to its members that its leadership has been in discussions with the governor’s office since early April regarding “concerns with MSP leadership.” Grady’s response to a fatal MSP chase in Kentwood, which the union viewed as a rush to judgment against an officer later charged with second-degree murder, “shifted discussions from membership concerns to a no-confidence status,” said the memo, obtained by the Free Press. Separately, Pummill accused Grady in January 2024 of being untruthful when he was questioned by internal affairs in connection with a scandal at the Flint post related to favored candidates receiving copies of questions in advance of promotion exams.
Grady’s selection of Lt. Col. Aimee Brimacombe as his second in command has also been controversial, in part because of recent discipline on her record and because of allegations, which are the subject of a civil lawsuit brought by two troopers, that she pressured a county prosecutor to bring criminal charges against them after they arrested the brother of one of her Facebook friends. The prosecutor and Brimacombe have both denied that allegation and the MSP has determined the allegations made in the lawsuit, which is still pending, are unfounded, according to a heavily redacted internal investigation report the MSP provided to the Free Press.
It was not clear Wednesday whether the latest complaint from the unions relates to any of those issues, or something new. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the complaint.
The State Board of Ethics has jurisdiction under the State Ethics Act to evaluate the ethical conduct of officials in the executive branch. It can hold public hearings and receive sworn testimony, but its findings and recommendations are only advisory.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MSP unions file complaint against leadership with state ethics panel