Sheriff, dispatch and emergency management outline March incidents and severe-weather response; captain urges voters to back millage

Eaton County public-safety officials summarized a busy March in which deputies investigated vehicle thefts and armed robberies, dispatchers completed federally backed tactical-dispatch training, and emergency-management staff activated the county emergency operations center for severe-weather monitoring.

In a separate public comment, a captain with the Eaton County Sheriff's Office, speaking as a resident and union representative, urged voters to approve a proposed public-safety millage and warned that the county could lose road patrol if the millage fails.

Sheriff's Office report

A sheriff's office representative reviewed March incidents that included multiple reported vehicle thefts and attempted thefts, an armed robbery at Delta Square Apartments, a breaking-and-entering at Mancino's on North Waverly, and a late-night incident at the Lansing Mall that prompted a large, panicked evacuation. The speaker said deputies determined through video review and interviews that reports of shots fired at the mall were unfounded. Other responses included mutual-aid work with Lansing Police Department and Michigan State Police, drone deployments, and K-9 tracking in separate cases. In one case deputies located a stolen vehicle and the suspect was taken into custody after entering a 27-degree river and being treated for hypothermia (body temperature reported as about 90 degrees) prior to being lodged.

Central dispatch and communications

Kelly Cunningham, Eaton County 9-1-1 director, told…