The Michigan Attorney General and his staff say they are leaving all options on the table as they investigate how an entire city was poisoned:
Todd Flood, special counsel for the state attorney general’s office investigation into the Flint water crisis, said Tuesday the probe could lead to a variety of criminal charges or civil actions.
“We’re here to investigate what possible crimes there are, anything to the involuntary manslaughter or death that may have happened to some young person or old person because of this poisoning, to misconduct in office,” he said. “We take this very seriously.”
Criminal charges may not be the only route they take:
“It’s not far-fetched” to imagine involuntary manslaughter charges in the case, Flood told reporters, if the investigation links “gross negligence” or a “breach of duty” to a death in Flint, where at least nine people have died of Legionnaires’ disease after the city switched to Flint River water in April 2014.
Flood could also pursue restitution for Flint residents affected by the water contamination crisis, he said, suggesting he could target private companies or governments involved in the man-made disaster.