Ypsilanti: Man’s fake cop bit scares off would-be robbers
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a man’s decision to pretend to be an undercover cop ended up scaring off two would-be robbers in an Ypsilanti park.
Police tell AnnArbor.com that the 26-year-old went to the park Saturday night to sell a video game system he had listed for sale, and one of the two robbers showed a gun in his waistband and demanded the electronics.
The man told police he quickly decided to pretend he was an undercover officer, which scared them away. The man called police to report the attempted robbery. Officers checked the park but couldn’t find the suspects.
Lansing: State of Mich. finalizing policy on social media
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state plans to consider what its employees and agencies post on social media websites as matters of public record and subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.
Michigan is working to finalize a policy that is expected to be completed in August, Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget, told the Lansing State Journal.
“What the state realizes is like other states, younger generations are getting their messages in other ways, be it Facebook or Twitter,” he said. “So when the state has important information to share, that’s an important avenue we have to look at.”
Lawyer Herschel Fink, who specializes in media law, said it appears the concept is untested in Michigan courts. He said he thinks such activity by government should be considered public record.
“If government and officials are communicating on issues of government policy, using these new means of communication — social media — then the public has to have access to that as well,” he said.
Michigan uses social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to communicate with the public.
How to treat posts by individual officials could stir debate. A Facebook page for a mayor, for example, would be subject to FOIA, Fink said, while that mayor’s personal Facebook page might not. Officials who mix personal and government postings on the same page might be subject to FOIA.
Muskegon: Off-duty officer rescues pilot from burning plane
NORTON SHORES, Mich. (AP) — An off-duty Muskegon police officer rescued a pilot from a burning cockpit after his small plane crashed during takeoff from Muskegon County Airport.
The pilot was taken to a local hospital. His name and condition have not been released.
The crash happened about 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Muskegon Police Officer Pete Boterenbrood said the pilot told him the plane developed engine trouble as soon as it took off.
Boterenbrood was in his house near the airport when his wife heard the plane sputter and called him. When the officer arrived at the crash site, he found the pilot conscious but trapped. There was a fire in the cockpit, but not in the spot where the pilot was, he said.
Boterenbrood pulled tree limbs away, managed to open the door and pulled the pilot out as the fire spread.
“I got him about 20 yards away from the plane,” Boterenbrood said. “By that time, I was pretty tired.”
Still, he pulled the pilot another 80 yards from the burning plane. The man wasn’t burned, Boterenbrood said.
He wouldn’t take credit for saving the pilot’s life.
“Anybody else would have done the same thing,” he said.
