Crystal Lake fireworks incident sparks years of court action

Apr. 7—BEULAH — A Copemish man filed a federal lawsuit against Benzie County, Crystal Lake Township, the township's supervisor and a sheriff's deputy, stating his rights were violated during what he described as the supervisor's uncontrolled response to a fireworks incident.

"She tells me she's a township supervisor," Johnny Ray McCall, Jr. said, in court last year, about Supervisor Amy Ferris, "but I've never seen a public official act this way ever."

Ferris did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday, though she previously stated in the same court proceeding, that in 2021, she heard fireworks ignited on a day and location where they were not permitted and responded within her authority.

"Bellows Park is a popular place, and there's been problems with that before, I proceeded down South Shore and sure enough, there was the fireworks going off on the beach of Bellows Park," Ferris said.

Bellows Park is across South Shore Road from Seventh Street Beach within Crystal Lake Township's borders on the west side of Crystal Lake.

The incident sparked a 2021 Benzie County Sheriff's Office investigation and McCall's arrest for an accused assault of Ferris; a 2023 jury trial ending in a not-guilty verdict for McCall; and McCall's responding civil lawsuit, filed January in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Ferris and McCall's version of events, as recorded in 85th District Court last year, are starkly different from one another.

Recent township meeting minutes show there's also disagreement between elected officials over how the incident, and other ordinance enforcement actions, should have been handled — and how best to defend the township and Ferris, against the claims in McCall's lawsuit.

Two attorneys, four defendants

Sue Sullivan, who served as Crystal Lake Township's clerk from 2013 to 2022, expressed concerns this month over a possible conflict of interest in having one attorney — in this case Traverse City attorney Brad Wierda — represent both the township and Ferris in the lawsuit.

"Since there were different points of view regarding the events, she believed they could jeopardize the interests of both defendants, since several members of the Board didn't perceive (Ferris') actions, as described in the complaint, appropriate," meeting minutes from a March 8 special meeting state.

Sullivan confirmed this viewpoint to the Record-Eagle on Friday.

"It's an issue that I raised at a recent board meeting because we were very much on record as being upset at how she handled the enforcement issues," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said when she was on the board, township officials also heard from several residents complaining about Ferris' actions on cemetery rule enforcement, as well as a livestock-related issue.

"Four out of the five board members sent a letter of apology to the complainant and her family," Sullivan said, of one cemetery complaint.

Attorney Wierda said Thursday that municipal attorneys often represent more than one government or government-employed defendant in a civil action — another attorney, Haider Kazim, is representing Benzie County and Benzie County Sheriff's deputy Joshua Rubin in the same lawsuit, for example.

Kazim did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

"It's a common thing, especially in federal cases," Wierda said.

Elected officials often disagree on all sorts of issues, Wierda said, acknowledging that there have been personality conflicts among Crystal Lake Township board members, there have been disagreements, but that doesn't preclude Ferris' interests and the township's interests from being aligned.

Plus, he said, no board member besides Ferris saw what happened that night.

The fireworks incident

About 10 p.m. on July 10, 2021, Ferris in court testimony said she was at home watching TV when she heard fireworks, got into her car and drove toward where she could see them lit above the tree line near the west shore of Crystal Lake.

Ferris said she located a group of people she didn't know — two of whom she described as "Igniter Man" and "Basketball Woman" — on a beach across the road from Bellows Park in Frankfort, who she said were violating local and state fireworks regulations.

Michigan law in 2021, stated consumer fireworks could be ignited on dates on or adjacent to various holidays, including between June 29 and July 4, until 11:45 p.m., and only on private property — not public parks.

A 2018 law granted local governments the ability to pass fireworks ordinances, and the township already had such an ordinance, passed in 2014.

Two facts everyone seems to agree on: McCall never lit off any fireworks and neither state law nor the township ordinance allowed fireworks on July 10.

Ferris said she identified herself as supervisor, she told the group to stop lighting off the fireworks, that it was illegal, and was met with jeers and insults coming from across the road at a park pavilion.

McCall testified he was at the pavilion, about 250 feet away, sitting on a picnic table, waiting for the fireworks to conclude so he could pick up his young daughter from a relative's birthday party.

McCall, who is blind in his left eye, said he saw Ferris arrive, saw her walk toward his uncle, whose back was turned, with something in her hand McCall could not identify (it turned out to be her cellphone).

McCall said he called, "Watch out, she's right behind you," to his uncle, which drew Ferris' attention; Ferris testified she walked across the street, to take cellphone photos of people's license plates, which is when an altercation occurred.

Ferris testified that McCall slapped her across the face and knocked her phone to the ground.

McCall testified Ferris was the aggressor, that she pushed her phone close to his face and he raised his arms to protect himself, and the safety of his sighted right eye.

In December 2021, McCall was arraigned in 85th District Court on a misdemeanor assault charge.

The trial was held in February 2023, where seven defense witnesses corroborated portions of McCall's testimony.

A Benzie County jury heard about seven hours of testimony, then deliberated for 12 minutes before finding McCall not guilty.

"I've had verdicts come back quick," said attorney Jesse Williams, who represented McCall in the criminal trial, "but not that quick."

A question of immunity

Crystal Lake Township's board received three complaints referencing Ferris' conduct at Bellows Park in 2021, according to their meeting minutes, two of which stated Ferris drove too fast on South Shore Road, in the dark and near where families were with their children.

Sullivan, who made public comment at the March 8 special meeting, testified as a defense witness for McCall, explaining how the township board passed a resolution in response to the fireworks incident.

Board members are now barred from acting alone to initiate an ordinance enforcement action.

The resolution, which meeting minutes show passed 3-2, with Ferris among the no votes, reads in part, "there are ongoing disagreements between Board members as to who and how perceived violations of township ordinances should be addressed."

McCall in the civil suit is represented by an attorney with a White Lake law firm, and is seeking monetary damages for accused false arrest and constitutional rights violations, in excess of $75,000.

Claims against the sheriff's deputy state he did not interview multiple witnesses, whose contact information was made available to him by Ferris and by McCall and/or McCall's attorney.

Rubin testified at trial, that McCall did not appear for a scheduled interview and that the prosecutor had already authorized the misdemeanor assault charge against McCall, when he received witness names.

The federal court generally grants governments and government officials with various forms of immunity protection against civil action, unless the plaintiff can show the defendant approved of or instituted a policy or practice that caused the harm.

Defendants' answers to McCall's complaint deny the allegations, and deny they are liable for damages based on immunity grounds.

A scheduling conference is set for April 10 before U.S. District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering.