Sheriff Jerry Clayton

by P.D. Lesko Miller Johnson attorney James A. Buster faced three incredulous Michigan Appeals Court judges. The first question asked of Mr. Buster was telling: "Why isn't this moot?" Buster offered no arguments why his appeal on…

Download and read the Sheriff's Dec. 2023 secret investigation Case Report prepared for Judge Tracy Van den Bergh. Washtenaw Co. Sheriff Report - Judge Van Den Bergh Report 12.18.2023Download by P.D. Lesko 1/28/25 Correction:…

by P.D. Lesko Washtenaw County recently hired former Sheriff's Dept. employee Derrick Jackson as the County's Racial Equity Officer. He began the job on Dec. 16. Jackson's hire is proof positive that cronyism is still a very serious…

by P.D. Lesko In the space of just a few weeks, the Washtenaw County Trial Court has been asked repeatedly by attorneys to sanction The Ann Arbor Independent for the publication of two investigative articles. In the latest instance,…

NOTE: This reporting was made possible by the Ann Arbor Independent's FOIA Fund. Donate today! by P.D. Lesko In March 2024, the Ann Arbor Independent made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Washtenaw County for the…

by P.D. Lesko Derrick Jackson, the Sheriff's hand-picked successor, lost the August 6, 2024 primary election to former Sheriff's Deputy Alyshia Dyer in a close race that may require a recount. Dyer captured 43.53 percent of the vote…

Updated 6/10/24 with a comment from Alyshia Dyer. by P.D. Lesko Captial-One-v.-DyerDownload On June 9, The Ann Arbor Independent received an anonymous email with a court filing attached. The same court filing was also sent to…

Note: The A2Indy FOIA Fund has taken in over $40,000 in 2024. The newspaper uses this fund to pay to obtain public records. This is the newspaper's first lawsuit against Washtenaw County for refusing to turn over public records. On…

Updated on May 30, 2024 with comments from Duane Breijak, Executive Dir. at the National Association of Social Workers, Michigan Chapter, Derrick Jackson and Tanya Hilgendorf, former Executive Dir. at Ozone House when Jackson worked there.…

by P.D. Lesko Since the July 31, 2021 publication of the first in a series of investigative articles about the mismanagement of SafeHouse Center, the County's domestic violence shelter, all 18 members of the Board of Directors on whose…