Lansing police failed to arrest man on domestic violence charge; months later his accuser is dead

LANSING — Months before Lansing police say Dennis Whaley shot and killed a woman and another man in a Lansing home, the department had obtained an arrest warrant for him for assaulting the woman.

In November, two Lansing Police Department officers were dispatched to a home where he and 53-year-old Christine Cambric were living in the 500 block of Woodrow Avenue. She and Whaley had gotten into an argument about bills and she told officers that Whaley kicked her four times, according to court records. Days earlier he'd pushed her out of bed, causing what she thought could have been a hairline shoulder fracture.

Police spoke to Whaley while at the home and he denied assaulting Cambric, according to court records. Police did not arrest him, despite a state law giving them wide discretion to do so. However, that same day after leaving the home police sought an arrest warrant.

Weeks later, on Jan. 4, officers obtained an arrest warrant for Whaley on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

Whaley, who had previously been subject to a domestic violence protective order for another woman, was not arrested on the warrant concerning Cambric in the months after it was obtained.

Last week, Whaley went to the home and killed her and 50-year-old Jason McKenzie with a 5.56-caliber rifle, according to charging documents.

Whaley has a previous conviction for "trafficking in illegal drugs," and was prohibited from carrying a firearm, according to court documents.

Whaley admitted to killing Cambric and McKenzie, police have said. Cambric, according to Ingham County court records, did not have a PPO against Whaley.

Steven Freeman, an attorney in the Ingham County Public Defender's Office who represents Whaley, declined to comment.

Whaley, 51, now faces two counts of open murder, three counts of felony firearm possession and one count of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person for killing Cambric and McKenzie. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

He was arraigned on those charges on Tuesday, the same day he was arraigned on the misdemeanor domestic violence charge. He was denied bond in the homicide case. The judge set bond in the domestic violence case at $300.

It's unclear why the Lansing Police Department did not arrest Whaley in November or during the 3 ½ months between obtaining the warrant and his arrest on murder charges.

Jordan Gulkis, a Lansing Police Department spokesperson, told the State Journal that police "did not find probable cause" to arrest Whaley at the house on Nov. 30. She could not immediately say what additional investigation or evidence allowed police to seek an arrest warrant the same day, but said officers send reports to the detective bureau if they feel "probable cause is in question."

The affidavit of probable cause for the arrest warrant does not specifically reference any police investigation or evidence gathered on Nov. 30 after police declined to arrest Whaley and left the home.

Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane said the request for the arrest warrant was authorized by his office, signed and sent back to police on Dec. 27. The warrant was signed by a judge on Jan. 4.

Dewane said the timeframe from police being called to the home and the warrant's authorization were not longer than typical and defended his office's actions, saying prosecutors do not make arrests. There are hundreds of warrants every week, he said, and police don't always track people down, adding that was likely due to limited personnel and funding.

"I wouldn't say it's an ideal situation," he said of LPD not arresting Whaley. "Would that have prevented a homicide? I can't say that."

Johanna Kononen is the director of law and policy for the Survivor Law Clinic at the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. She said delays like the one that preceeded Cambric's death are "unfortunately common" in many cases.

"Domestic violence arrests are just not usually a priority for law enforcement until they are brought to their attention because something terrible has happened," she said.

Dewane referenced the likely low bond conditions and short sentence that would come from a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. However, he added that he would prefer someone be arrested, charged and arraigned so no contact orders and additional measures could be put in place.

Both Dewane and Gulkis defended their offices' actions and stressed that both departments take domestic violence seriously.

State law says that "in most circumstances" officers "should arrest and take an individual into custody" if they have probable cause for a domestic violence charge. The law also says that a decision not to arrest someone "should not be based solely upon the absence of visible indications of injury or impairment."

A review of court records also shows at least two protective orders filed against Whaley.

In 2012, a woman who had been in a relationship with Whaley requested a protective order after she said he'd become violent. She feared for her life, she told a judge, adding that Whaley had threatened to stalk her and make sure she never walked again if he got arrested. The judge granted the order.

Then in 2015, a man who had been involved in a lawsuit against Whaley obtained a protective order. The man told a judge that Whaley approached him in a parking lot and said he knew where the man lived and he was going to have "trouble."

Earlier this month, the State Journal published an investigation into Michigan's broken system for responding to domestic violence and keeping victims safe. The story identified a number of Michigan laws that lag other states.

The state encourages victims to get protective orders, but women the State Journal interviewed detailed how their cries for help were met with annoyance rather than immediate steps that might prevent a homicide.

Michigan has among the weakest punishments for first-time domestic violence convictions in the country. In Massachusetts, someone faces up to 2 ½ years in prison. In Michigan, it's 93 days in jail.

Michigan is also one of a dozen states where judges can't require firearms be removed from someone served with a personal protection order. States with that provision, such as Wisconsin, have seen reductions in domestic violence homicides.

Experts, advocates and victims interviewed for that project pointed to a number of solutions that could address those flaws and others, but all said that solutions need to start with making it a priority.

On Wednesday, Kononen echoed that sentiment.

"We need to take domestic violence more seriously," she said. "People tend to want to think that it's something that happens to other people."

Reporter Ken Palmer contributed to this story.

Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing police didn't arrest man on domestic violence charge; now his accuser is dead