Michigan AG: No criminal violations in unannounced intruder drill at Hawthorn Center

The Michigan Attorney General's Office found no criminal violations after a review of an unannounced active intruder drill at the former Hawthorn Center youth psychiatric hospital in Wayne County just days before Christmas.

Danny Wimmer, press secretary for the Attorney General's Office, told the Free Press in an email Friday that the office "conducted an exhaustive analysis of any applicable criminal offenses that may have fit the actions taken by the Hawthorn Center and individuals responsible for the drill ... Our extensive investigation did not find any violations of any relevant criminal statutes connected to the drill."

Wimmer said the office ensured separation between attorneys investigating the drill for criminal violations and attorneys representing the state agencies involved in civil lawsuits filed in various courts after the incident.

Wimmer said the office's Health, Environment and Family Services Division represents the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which owned and operated the facility in Northville Township.

Attorneys investigating the incident for any violations of criminal statue were in the Criminal Trials and Appeals Division of the office, Wimmer said.

Panic in the hospital

A separate, internal review of the armed active intruder drill earlier this year indicated no policies or work rules were violated when the facility held the drill four days before Christmas, terrifying many patients and staff and bringing dozens of police officers to the site with guns drawn.

Lawsuits recount panic in the building, with employees gathering children and barricading them into spaces with no windows. Frantic adults stacked heavy furniture, such as mattresses, against the doors and armed themselves with items such as hot coffee, brushes and combs.

Some called 911, talking in hushed tones, while others texted their loved ones with what they thought might be their final messages.

More: It was a drill, not a real shooter. But no one told workers or children at youth hospital.

A State Hospital Administration investigator who reviewed the Dec. 21 drill found it was conducted hastily — just a day after the decision was made to have it — with poor communication and inadequate staffing for the circumstances.

The investigator's March 22 memorandum was to Hawthorn Center Director, Dr. Victoria Petti, and was among hundreds of emails and documents obtained by the Free Press through a Freedom of Information Act request with the state health department.

“Based on the above findings, there is not enough evidence to indicate any work rule or other policy violations on the part of any Hawthorn Center staff members. The hospital emergency operations manual and the safety committee dictate when and what types of drills are to be held. However, there are no specific instructions about how the drills are to be run,” according to the conclusion in the memorandum.

How the drill was planned

The memorandum and other documents stated that Derek Leppek, the center’s safety officer, decided to conduct the exercise, discussing it with members of a safety committee in a meeting the day before it took place.

Michigan State Police reports within the FOIA show that Leppek texted Petti at 9:52 a.m. the day of the drill stating: “I’m going to be doing an active shooter drill sometime this morning I’m just giving you a heads up.” Petti gave a reply “thumbs up” on the text message. The active intruder drill began at 10:29 a.m., per the state police report.

Several staff members called 911 after hearing an announcement that two armed intruders were in the building. The memorandum stated Leppek said he used two center workers to role-play as the shooters, who walked the building but had no weapons. The two workers were detained by responding officers and released after police confirmed the situation was a drill.

Both role-playing workers, Brandon Woodruff and Hawk Kennedy, as well as a half-dozen other employees and two sets of parents of children at the center that day, filed lawsuits against the state health department and/or, Petti, Leppek and two other center officials.

Kennedy's lawsuit was filed last month in Wayne County Circuit Court, while the other lawsuits in that circuit court and the Michigan Court of Claims were filed in May.

Robin Wagner, an attorney representing Woodruff, employees and parents in four of the five lawsuits, said the state and the specific actors violated their clients' civil rights, and they want to hold the state accountable for these violations of their civil rights.

"And we will have a day in court for our clients to get justice for these awful violations of their civil rights. And we want discipline for the people who caused such trauma to our clients," Wagner said.

"We have asked the courts for an additional period of time as we negotiate with the state for an early resolution of this, to bring justice to our clients expeditiously," Wagner said, adding the next court dates are in November for the sides to continue negotiations.

State Police investigated the incident and referred the matter to the state Attorney General's Office for review of possible criminal charges and potential charging decisions, Wimmer said in May.

In July, state Sen. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, requested a formal audit of the facility. He sent a letter to Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler after concerns about the unannounced drill, children escaping the facility and temporarily relocating youth in the center into an adult psychiatric facility — the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland — while the youth center is razed and a new facility is built.

More: Michigan legislator wants audit of Hawthorn Center after unannounced active shooter drill

Last month, Webber announced that the Office of Auditor General will consider his request in its 2024 audit cycle. According to a release from Webber's office, Ringler said in his reply to the request: "We believe most items from your request could be effectively reviewed in a wider-scope audit of the Office of Recipient Rights (ORR). We can commit to considering ORR during our next audit planning cycle for 2024."

The most recent audit of the center was conducted in 2014, according to Webber's office.

After the Free Press report Friday, Webber said in a release that concerns related to the center "run much deeper than one disastrous emergency drill" and stories from families and former patients range from "heartbreaking to tragic and they deserve answers and accountability."

"While criminal activity may not be found in relation to this one event," he said, "many questions relating to proper care and other potentially unlawful actions remain unanswered. It is my hope that this recent announcement by the attorney general's office is just the beginning of an expanded and more comprehensive investigation. More must be done on behalf of individuals and families who have suffered in the center's care."

Webber asked for the audit after a listening session for families of loved ones who said they have suffered in the care of the center and the state health department's Child Protective Services. In June, Webber also sent letters to Senate committee chairs requesting a legislative hearing to investigate ongoing problems at the center.

Hawthorn Center patients and staff were moved to a separate unit at the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital at the end of June, Lynn Sutfin, state health department spokesperson, previously said. She said as of July 1, Hawthorn Center is no longer an accredited entity.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan AG: No criminal violations in Hawthorn Center shooter drill