WITH BREAKING NEWS ALERT. WE DO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW BREAKING NEWS IN THE TRAGIC DEATHS OF A MOTHER
AND HER TWO YOUNG SONS IN
OAKLAND COUNTY TONIGHT IN
OAKLAND COUNTY DEPUTY IS UNDER
REVIEW FOR THE HANDLING OF THE
CASE, AND WE’RE GETTING A
CLEARER PICTURE OF WHAT HAPPENED
IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THEIR
DEATHS. GOOD EVENING. I’M
DEVIN SCILLIAN KAREN DREW IN FOR
KIMBERLY GILL TONIGHT. WE GOT
THIS INFORMATION INTO THE
NEWSROOM JUST LATE TONIGHT. SO
WE NEED TO SEND IT OVER RIGHT
NOW TO GRANT GRANT. TAKE US
THROUGH WHAT WE KNOW. DE’VEON
KAREN DEPUTIES MADE REPEATED
ATTEMPTS TO HELP MONICA KENNEDY
AND HER THREE YEAR OLD SON MALIK
, HER NINE YEAR OLD SON, KYLE,
AND HER 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER
BEFORE THEY DIED OF HYPOTHERMIA
, AND WE’LL GET TO WHY THEY’RE
DEPUTY IS UNDER REVIEW IN A
MOMENT, BUT FIRST A TIMELINE
HERE OF WHAT HAPPENED IS STARTED
ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON, WHEN
DEPUTIES WERE FIRST NOTIFIED OF
A MOTHER AND THREE CHILDREN
SEEKING HELP IN DOWNTOWN PONTIAC
IN THE SPANISH SEVERAL HOURS,
DEPUTIES MADE CONTACT WITH
CANADA MULTIPLE TIMES EACH TIME.
SHE TOLD HIM SHE WAS FINE. THAT
INCLUDES A MEETING AT MCLAREN
HOSPITAL IN A DEPUTY WHO
FOLLOWED HER FOR 20 MINUTES
TRYING TO GET HER SHELTER.
DEPUTIES SAY SHE WAS WEARING A
COAT. HER CHILDREN, HOWEVER,
WERE WEARING SWEATSHIRTS AND
WRAPPED IN BED SHEETS. THAT SAME
DAY, DIFFERENT DEPUTIES MET WITH
HER FAMILY WHO TRIED TO HAVE HER
COMMITTED TO A MENTAL HEALTH
TREATMENT FACILITY. THEY TOLD
DEPUTIES. KENNEDY BELIEVES
SOMEBODY WAS TRYING TO KILL HER
AND THAT THE POLICE WERE
INVOLVED. THE CHILDREN HAD ALSO
BEEN TOLD TO RUN AWAY IF THEY
SAW OFFICERS WHILE INVESTIGATORS
WERE MEETING WITH FAMILIES,
SOMEONE ELSE REPORTED SEEING THE
KENNEDY FAMILY WANDERING IN
PONTIAC, THE SHERIFF SAYS. A
DEPUTY RESPONDED TO THAT CALL
BUT DID NOT COMPLETELY SEARCHED
THE AREA AS HE WAS EXPECTED.
DEPUTY IS NOW UNDER
INVESTIGATION. THERE WERE TWO
MORE SEARCHES ON FRIDAY EVENING,
BUT THAT FAMILY WAS NOT FOUND.
IT WASN’T UNTIL SUNDAY THAT
KENNEDY’S 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER
KNOCKED ON A NEIGHBOR’S DOOR AND
SAID HER MOTHER AND BROTHERS
WERE DEAD. AND WE DO HAVE A CREW
ON THE WAY TO PONTIAC RIGHT NOW
TO TRY TO SPEAK WITH SHERIFF
MIKE BOUCHARD. WE’RE STILL
DIGGING INTO THIS, AND WE’LL
HAVE A LOT MORE STREAMING LIVE
ON 10 AT 10 O’CLOCK AT LOCAL 4
PLUS AND BACK HERE AT 11 BACK TO
YOU, ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU,
GRANT. THIS IS TIM PAMPLIN ALONG
6 96 AND ALL FOUR DISASTER SCENE
HERE ALONG THE FREEWAY. THIS IS
WHY A MASSIVE POWER LINE HAS
COME DOWN ACROSS 6 96 JUST WEST
OF LIFE. 75 ZOOMING UP HERE
YOU’LL SEE THE POWER LINE THAT’S
COME DOWN. IT CONNECTS TO A HIGH
TENSION LINE ON THE RIGHT OVER
THERE. FREEWAY COMPLETELY CLOSED
DOWN AT WOODWARD AVENUE. THEY
CAN’T GET THE VEHICLES THAT ARE
CURRENTLY ON THE FREEWAY OFF THE
FREEWAY. BECAUSE THE POWER LINE
IS DOWN THERE. LET’S GO TO THE
SKY FOR THE TROPICS SO YOU CAN
SEE THE EXTENT OF THE BACKUPS
HERE STRETCHING FOR MILES. IF
YOU’RE CROSSED OUT COMMUTE TAKES
YOU ALONG 6 96 THIS EVENING. YOU
MIGHT WANT TO TRY AN ALTERNATE
16 MILES EIGHT MILES, PERHAPS
BACK DOWN HERE UNDERGROUND.
WHO’S POOR FOLKS ARE STUCK. THEY
CAN’T GO ANYWHERE UNTIL THIS
POWER LINE NOW DRAPES ACROSS 6
96. IS MADE SAFE THAT YOU GUYS
DOWNTOWN. GETTING RESULTS ONE
DAY AFTER WE EXPOSED THE FACT
THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN 1000
BROKEN FIRE HYDRANTS IN THE CITY
, AND WE WILL DOUBLE THE
CAPACITY OF WORKERS THAT ARE
WORKING ON FIRE HYDRANTS, AND
I’M ANTICIPATING THAT WILL GET
300 DONE. A WEEK. INVESTIGATIVE
TEAM. IS THERE THE DETROIT CITY
WATER BOARD MEETING AS THEY
GREEN LIGHT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
TO FIX THIS FIRE HYDRANT PROBLEM
? JUST HOURS AGO, A MULTIMILLION
DOLLAR VOTE TALK ABOUT GETTING
THE RESULTS. THE DECISION MADE
TO FIX THE BROKEN FIRE HYDRANT
PROBLEM THAT WE EXPOSED HERE.
YESTERDAY AT SIX O’CLOCK, SO
THAT DECISION COMES AFTER I
CONFRONTED THE HEAD OF DETROIT’S
WATER AND SEWAGE DEPARTMENT
ASKING HIM WHY THERE ARE MORE
THAN 1000 BROKEN FIRE HYDRANTS
IN THE CITY AND WHAT’S GOING TO
BE DONE TO FIX IT SORT OF
REUTERS, THEIR HOMES AND THEIR
BUSINESSES ARE SAFE. YOU’RE
TELLING ME IN 30 DAYS YOU’RE
GOING TO GET OVER 1000 FIRE
HYDRANTS FIXED. THAT’S MY GOAL.
THAT’S GARY BROWN, THE HEAD OF
DETROIT’S WATER AND SEWAGE
DEPARTMENT. HE WAS DEFENDING THE
FACT THERE ARE MORE THAN 1000
BROKEN FIRE HYDRANTS IN THE CITY
, SAYING THEY’RE TRYING TO FIX
THE ISSUE. THERE ARE A LOT OF
OTHER ISSUES GOING ON IN THE
WATER DEPARTMENT. BROKEN WATER
MAIN BREAKS UM AND A LOT OF WORK
THAT’S BEING DONE IS BEING
PRIORITIZED. AND SO AGAIN. WE GO
THROUGH THIS EVERY YEAR. WHAT
THEY GO THROUGH THIS EVERY YEAR
ABOUT DETROITERS DIDN’T KNOW
THAT MORE THAN 1000 BROKEN
HYDRANTS ABSOLUTELY
UNACCEPTABLE. OKAY BECAUSE THIS
IS NOT THE FIRST TIME. THAT ARE
FIRE HYDRANTS. HAVE BEEN IN
TROUBLE AND NOT WORKING. DEB
SUMNER LIVES IN SOUTHWEST
DETROIT NEAR A MAJOR TROUBLE
SPOT. TAKE A LOOK. WE OBTAINED
THIS MAP FROM A FIRE DEPARTMENT
INSIDER SHOWING THERE ARE 97
INOPERABLE HYDRANTS IN THIS
COMMUNITY ALONE. SUMNER HAS SEEN
FIRSTHAND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
HYDRANTS DON’T WORK. THEY’RE
RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE BLOCK.
LOOKING FOR WORKING FIRE
HYDRANT. ONE DID NOT WORK THE
NEAREST 11 DOWN THE BLOCK IT
THAT ENDED THE BLACK DID IT WORK
. THEY FINALLY HIT WATER UP
THERE, AND IT’S NOT JUST BROKEN
FIRE HYDRANTS. MY SOURCES ARE
TELLING ME THERE IS A LOW WATER
PRESSURE ISSUE AS WELL. THEY’RE
DEALING WITH TAKE A LOOK AT
THIS. JUST LAST NIGHT ON SPRING
, WELL, STREET FIREFIGHTERS HAD
TO DEAL WITH A LOW WATER
PRESSURE SITUATION. IN
RESPONDING TO A CALL. THIS
MORNING, OUR TEAM WAS OUT
GETTING MORE VIDEO BROKEN FIRE
HYDRANTS. WE WERE WAITING TO
CATCH UP WITH CITY CREWS WHO
WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE REPAIRS.
THE CITY TOLD US WE COULD GO
ALONG WITH THEM. BUT THEN, AFTER
MY STORY AIRED LAST NIGHT,
EXPOSING THE ISSUE WILL THAT
INVITATION TO FOLLOW REPAIR
CREWS WAS TAKEN AWAY
NEIGHBORHOOD SO WE SHOWED UP
THIS AFTERNOON AT THE WATER
BOARD MEETING. THAT’S THE GOAL.
IS TO GET CONTRACTORS SUPPORT IN
ORDER TO MAKE THIS AN EMERGENCY
AND GET THE HYDRANTS WORKING
BECAUSE OF WHAT WE EXPOSED THE
CITY APPROVED MORE THAN $7
MILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDING TO
FIX THE BROKEN HYDRANTS. WORK
STARTS MONDAY. THE CONTRACT
APPROVED TODAY MOBILIZES CRUISE
TO TACKLE THE BACKLOG AND YOU
BETTER BELIEVE WE WILL BE
FOLLOWING UP TO MAKE SURE THAT
THAT WORK IS DONE FOR YOU. GARY
BROWN TELLING THE MEETING JUST
LIKE YOU TOLD ME THAT HE PLANS
TO GET ALL 1200 REPAIRED IN THE
NEXT 30 DAYS. AS FOR THE REASON
SO MANY HYDRANTS ARE NOT
WORKING, THEY SAY, THIS IS THE
PRIME WATER MAIN BREAK SEASON.
THEY CAN’T PULL CRUISE OFF OF
THOSE REPAIRS TO TACKLE THIS
BACKLOG OF BROKEN HYDRANTS. SO
THIS EMERGENCY MONEY WILL HELP
THEM TACKLE REPAIRS ON BOTH
WATER MAINS AND HYDRANTS.
BRUSSELS TAKING A LOOK AT
CHANGING WHEN THEY INSPECT
HYDRANTS TO KEEP UP WITH REPAIRS
SO THEY DON’T END UP WITH
ANOTHER BACKLOG. KEEP OUR MILD
WEATHER THAT MIGHT HELP THE
WORK. GET DONE AS WELL. YEAH,
WELL, STAY ON IT. UNIVERSITY OF
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL STAFF MEMBER
IS STILL ON LEAVE TONIGHT, AND
WE ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE
REASONS WHY YOU HAVE M S CO
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT WEISS
JUST FINISHED HIS SECOND SEASON
WITH THE WOLVERINES. POLICE THE
UNIVERSITY SAID THEY ARE
INVESTIGATING COMPUTER ACCESS
CRIMES THAT SHIM BECHLER HALL,
WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH THE CENTER
OF THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM, POLICE
LOG SHOWS AN EMPLOYEE REPORTED
SOMEONE ACCESSING UNIVERSITY
EMAIL ACCOUNTS WITHOUT
AUTHORIZATION. DETROIT NEWS
REPORTS. POLICE RECENTLY
SEARCHED WHY SUZANNE ARBOR, HOME
UNIVERSITY AND ATHLETIC
DEPARTMENT ARE NOT COMMENTING
THUS FAR. MICHIGAN’S POPULATION
LOSS HAS BEEN COSTLY. THE STATE
LOST A CONGRESSIONAL SEAT AS
PART OF THE LAST CENSUS. AND NOW
THERE ARE NEW NUMBERS TONIGHT
SHOWING THE STATE’S BIRTH RATE
IS BELOW ITS DEATH RATE FOR THE
SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR IN 2021
, MICHIGAN, SAW 105,022 BERTHS
AND 100 AND 17,756. THIS IS
LIKELY TO HAVE SIGNIFICANT
ECONOMIC IMPACT GOING FORWARD.
LOCAL FORCE BUSINESS EDITOR ROB
MALONEY IS LIVE TONIGHT WITH
MORE ON THIS STORY, RON GOOD
EVENING, KAREN. YOU KNOW A
HEALTHY ECONOMY IS A GROWING
ECONOMY. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A
BIRTH RATE THAT IS BELOW THE
DEATH RATE THAT MEANS FEWER
PEOPLE TO WORK IN THE ECONOMY
AND GOING FORWARD. THAT’S A
MAJOR ISSUE. IF YOU WERE LITTLE
ONES IN HOSPITAL, MATERNITY WARD
STARTED AS A TREND BACK IN THE
19 EIGHTIES ACROSS MICHIGAN, BUT
THE DISPARITIES MOST STARK IN
THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. IT’S
NOT SURPRISING TO LUKE GLASER,
PRESIDENT OF MICHIGAN, FUTURE
NONPROFIT LOOKING TO HELP THE
STATE SUCCEED IN A KNOWLEDGE
DRIVEN ECONOMY, HE TELLS LOCAL 4
THIS IS VERY BAD ECONOMIC NEWS.
IT’S THE KIND OF REPORT THAT
SHOULD SEND ALARM BELLS OFF. ON
ANYBODY WHO CARES ABOUT THE
MICHIGAN ECONOMY ON ITS FACE. IT
MEANS FEWER POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES
THAT BUSINESSES NEED TO GROW.
SLOWING ACTIVITY MADE MUCH WORSE
BY WHAT LASER CALLS MICHIGAN’S
BRAIN DRAIN COLLEGE STUDENTS
GRADUATING WITH TWO AND FOUR
YEAR DEGREES DECIDING THE
WOLVERINE STATE ISN’T FOR THEM
AND MOVING TO STATES WITH MORE
ATTRACTIVE CITIES. IN A
WASHINGTON POST DATA STUDY.
GLASER POINTS TO PLACES LIKE
COLORADO, MINNESOTA AND ILLINOIS
. ALL COLD WEATHER STATES LURING
MORE OUT STATE GRADUATES THAT
THOSE GRADUATING FROM THEIR OWN
UNIVERSITIES IN THAT RATIO.
GRADS WHO LEAVE VERSUS THOSE WHO
STAY MICHIGAN FALLS WAY BEHIND
LOSING 14% MORE OF ITS DEGREES
STUDENTS THAN IT KEEPS CANNOT
HAVE A GROWING ECONOMY. UH IF
YOU HAVE MORE PEOPLE, LEAVING
THE LABOR MARKET THAT ENTERING
THE LABOR MARKET AND WHAT THESE
REPORTS SAY IS NOT ONLY IS A
TODAY PROBLEM. IT’S GONNA BE A
PROBLEM FOR MICHIGAN FOR THE
NEXT COUPLE OF DECADES. AND HE
SAYS ON A PRACTICAL LEVEL, WHAT
YOU HAVE HERE IS EMPLOYERS WHO
WANT TO SAY GROW. THEY DON’T
HAVE THE HANDS TO DO THAT HERE.
AND SO WHAT HE SAYS, IS IT
FORCES THEM TO GO AND PERHAPS
GROW IN OTHER STATES, OR EVEN
PICK UP STAKES AND MOVED TO
ANOTHER STATE WHERE, IN FACT
THEY HAVE THE HANDS TO HELP THEM
GROW? BACK TO YOU. THE NUMBERS
ARE DEFINITELY WORRYING.
FASCINATING FINDINGS THERE.
YEAH, ALL RIGHT. WELL, WE’VE GOT
A WEEK AS WE CONTINUE. WE’VE GOT
WE WAS TALKING EARLIER ABOUT THE
MILDER WEATHER THAT WE HAVE.
IT’S STILL WINTER, BUT WE
HAVEN’T SEEN A WHOLE LOT OF
SIGNS OF IT TALKED ABOUT RAIN,
AND KIM WAS TALKING ABOUT A
LITTLE BIT OF THUNDER IN THE
FORECAST THUNDERSTORMS IN
JANUARY AND THE RAIN IS GETTING
CLOSE TO US. IT’S NOT HERE YET.
IT’S ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE HOURS
AWAY. IT WILL COME UP FROM THE
SOUTH MOVED TO THE NORTHEAST
COULD START AS A MIX OF RAIN
SNOW NORTH OF DETROIT,
ESPECIALLY UP INTO THE THUMB,
BUT THE CONCERN TOMORROW WILL BE
SOME THUNDERSTORMS LATER ON IN
THE AFTERNOON. 38 IN THE
MORNING. WE’LL HAVE RAIN IN THE
MORNING A BREAK DURING THE
MIDDAY HOUR AS A DRY SLOT WORKS
ITS WAY IN AND THEN IT’S BACK TO
MORE SHOWERS AND A FEW EMBEDDED
THUNDERSTORMS. TOMORROW EVENING
. 48 WILL BE OUR DAYTIME HIGH
FOR TOMORROW. LOOK HOW CLOSE WE
GET. TO THE SEVERE RISK. YES I
SAID SEVERE RISK THE BEST
CHANCES IN PARTS OF CENTRAL OHIO
. BUT WE GET PRETTY CLOSE HERE.
IN FACT, THE MARGINAL RISK GOES
JUST ACROSS THE OHIO BORDER.
THAT’S THE LOWEST RISK LEVEL BUT
WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED IF WE HEAR
A COUPLE RUMBLES OF THUNDER
TOMORROW EVENING IF YOU WANT TO
KEEP UP TO DATE ON WHEN THE RAIN
WILL ARRIVE IN YOUR
NEIGHBORHOOD. THE BEST WAY TO DO
IT IS WITH OUR INTERACTIVE RADAR
THAT YOU CAN HAVE IN THE PALM OF