Top Ten in 2021: The A2Indy Articles That Got You Reading
Here are the top 10 stories in 2021 for The Ann Arbor Independent, based on page views.
Date: Jul. 31, 2021
Headline: “Staff and Clients Allege SafeHouse Center is Mismanaged and a “Racist, Toxic” Environment”
In February of 2021, SafeHouse Center clients, staff and interns, present and past, came forward to allege that under Executive Director Barbara Niess-May, who has been at the helm since 2002, a “toxic, racial divide” exists between management, low-paid staff, and survivors who are, according to Niess-May, primarily people “who have run out of resources” and who are “very low-income.” The shelter, say the staff and clients, is filthy and security is lax.
Date: Sep. 15, 2021
Headline: “SafeHouse Center is a ‘Dangerous Dump’ and Survivors Say, ‘Enough is Enough’
In late-August, a group of survivors housed at SafeHouse Center in Pittsfield Township contacted the newspaper. When asked why they did so, their answers were the same: They did not want other women, other survivors, to suffer in the ways they were suffering at SafeHouse Center. Survivors interviewed described entering SafeHouse Center under the mistaken assumption that it would be a clean, welcoming, safe environment where they and their children could begin the process of healing the scars of the physical, emotional and sexual abuse they’d suffered.
Date: Sep. 20, 2021
Headline: “Alleged Assailant of Survivor Evicted by SafeHouse Jailed on $3M Cash Surety Bond”
In setting the $3 million cash surety bond, Fink said, “Even if one of these texts is from Mr. Smith, he’s an extremely dangerous person.” Fink added, “This is not a situation where I can take any chances. It’s about the information I’ve received. My job as the Magistrate is to set a bond that will protect the community.”
Date: Aug. 31, 2021
Headline: “SafeHouse Exec. Dir. and Staff Retaliated Against Sexual/Physical Assault Survivors Who Spoke Out About Health and Safety Concerns at the Shelter”
“I want to keep other survivors from being treated the way I’m being treated. This has to stop.” Fields is studying for a degree in social work at EMU. On Tuesday August 31, Fields, a sexual assault survivor, was summarily “exited” (thrown out) of SafeHouse by Executive Director Barbara Niess-May, Director of Services Kim Montgomery, and Shelter Program Coordinator Meggan Casper.
Date: Mar. 22, 2021
“Husband of Ann Arbor City Council Member to Be Sentenced on Domestic Violence Charge”
On January 13, 2021 Mitchell Irwin appeared before Ann Arbor 15th District Court Judge Miriam A. Perry for arraignment on a charge of domestic violence. Irwin is charged with a misdemeanor. It’s not known who the victim of the domestic assault is, or the extent or type of battery with which Irwin was charged. Police records related to the complaint, investigation, charge and prosecution have been requested, but not yet released. The 15th District Court records posted online, however, show details concerning the name of the defendant, the case number, charge, the dates of 11 courtroom hearings/motions, and the date of sentencing.
Date: Mar. 23, 2021
“Mitchell Irwin Sentenced on Domestic Violence Charge”
On March 23, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. Ann Arbor 15th District Court Judge Miriam A. Perry sentenced former Michigan state senator Mitchell L. Irwin on a single charge of domestic violence, a misdemeanor. Irwin is the father of Michigan state senator Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor). Mitchell Irwin pled no contest. In pleading no contest, the defendant admits to the truth of the facts alleged in the indictment. Such a plea prevents a guilty plea from being used against a defendant in any subsequent legal proceeding.
Date: Oct. 21, 2021
“Prosecutor Drops All Charges Against Jeffrey Dwayne Smith, $3M Bond Rescinded”
On January 13, 2021 Mitchell Irwin appeared before Ann Arbor 15th District Court Judge Miriam A. Perry for arraignment on a charge of domestic violence. Irwin is charged with a misdemeanor. It’s not known who the victim of the domestic assault is, or the extent or type of battery with which Irwin was charged. Police records related to the complaint, investigation, charge and prosecution have been requested, but not yet released. The 15th District Court records posted online, however, show details concerning the name of the defendant, the case number, charge, the dates of 11 courtroom hearings/motions, and the date of sentencing.
Date: Apr. 7, 2021
“Corruption On Display: The Ann Arbor City Attorney, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor, and the Irwin/Eyer DV Case”
In the case of Mitchell Irwin, the abuser is a 1 Percenter Poster Boy, an educated, rich, 68-year-old white man, a former Michigan State Senator, Granholm appointee, former Democratic Leader in the Michigan State Senate, and the father of Ann Arbor’s current Michigan State Senator, Jeff Irwin. His victim is a 45-year-old white woman, an Ann Arbor City Council member and a former campaign staffer for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, when she ran in 2018. The County Prosecutor is a white man. He agreed to allow Mitch Irwin to plead no contest, to receive a suspended jail sentence and probation. A trifecta of privilege that, a local attorney pointed out, doesn’t appear to be allowed under the applicable Michigan domestic violence sentencing statute.
Date: Mar. 24, 2021
“Ann Arbor Council Member Allegedly Told Employees Complaining About Sexual Harassment to ‘Be Thankful for the Attention'”
The Ward 4 Ann Arbor City Council member reportedly asked, “How can I be faulted for not fixing a problem that I didn’t know even existed?” Eyer Irwin’s question appears to cast doubt on the allegations of the young women, including Dievendorf, as well as the claims of multiple young women who say they went to Eyer directly about the sexual harassment.
Date: Oct. 21, 2021
“Prosecutor Drops All Charges Against Jeffrey Dwayne Smith, $3M Bond Rescinded”
Jeffrey Dwayne Smith, who is Black, was initially arrested on three charges and then more charges were later levied against him by the Prosecutor’s Office, including kidnapping. His $3 million cash bond is the largest ever set by a Washtenaw County judge. In dropping all of the charges against Smith, Savit, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Burton-Harris and Hines all face questions about whether their office may have illegally detained an innocent Black man by setting a $3 million cash bond, and whether a dozen charges, including sexual assault, stalking, kidnapping and domestic violence should have been levied in the first place.
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