April 5, 2006

 
Town Paralyzed Searching for Black Man who did not exist
A sheriff's sergeant who provided a detailed description of a black man he said shot him in the arm has been charged with filing a false report after prosecutors say the sergeant actually turned his own gun on himself. Eaton County sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Lutz was charged Monday in connection with a March 20 shooting that prompted a massive manhunt for a black male suspect in Delta Township. "There is no danger to the community, as far as an unknown assailant who is armed and has assaulted a police officer," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mike Eagen told the Lansing State Journal.  Lutz, who is on paid medical leave and is being housed at a mental health treatment facility, faces two felonies as well as two misdemeanor counts, according to the prosecutor's office. Shortly after 3 a.m. March 20, Lutz reported he was shot in the right arm while on patrol near the West Town Plaza on West Saginaw Highway. Police blocked off neighborhoods, closed school buildings and conducted a massive search at daybreak for the supposed gunman. More than 40 police officers from as many as six departments and at least one helicopter participated. St. Gerard Church shut down its school and canceled two morning Masses while police searched the area, including some parishioners' homes. [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: The sketch was drawn from Sergeant Lutz's description of the shooter. The Eaton County Sheriff's Department said he was a black man with a light to medium complexion in his early 20s, he's about 6 feet tall and has a muscular build. At the time of the "shooting", police said he was wearing a dark Yankees baseball cap and a dark sweat suit to match.  [more]
  
• Warrant Issued for Local Deputy Who Was Shot [more]
  

 
Black Community Responds to Phantom Menace Search
When Eaton County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Lutz reported he was shot March 20, he claimed a black man pulled the trigger. The news that Lutz is being charged with making it up has generated a lot of anger. The lines have been lit at Brant Johnson's WQHH-FM talk program ever since word of the new development in the Lutz case surfaced. "They were shocked that an officer would accuse a black man of such a terrible crime," Johnson said. Callers reactions ranged from outrage over how blacks in the area may have been treated in the wake of the shooting to calls for action. There is similar concern and disgust among leaders in Lansing's black community. Reverend Columbus Clayton asks that the sheriff department come forward and begin dialogue with the black community. He says every young, black male who may have fit a description Sgt. Lutz allegedly gave was in danger these past two weeks. [more] and [more] and  [more]

• Public beware: Armed suspect remains on the loose [more]
• Manhunt under way for suspect in police shooting [more]
• Suspect Sketch Released After Local Shooting [more]
• Pictured above: Officers from the Eaton County Sheriff's Department gather in the West Town Plaza parking lot after the manhunt was called off.