FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday August 5, 2024
Kayrouz calls on Michigan legislature to address FOIA flaws allowing governments to hide facts in injury cases
Southfield, MI -- Tougher legislation is needed to strengthen Michigan FOIA laws to prevent the repetition of an injustice in which a police officer was able to manipulate a crime scene investigation and prevent the release of information in a motor vehicle accident involving her son, prominent Michigan Attorney Joumana Kayrouz said Monday.
Kayrouz cited the accident recently reported in the local news that took place more than a year ago in Dryden Township involving an Amazon driver, represented by the Kayrouz Law Firm, who was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in which the other driver, a speeding 15-year-old unlicensed driver, fled the accident scene and was able to delay justice because of the interference of his mother, Amanda Szymanski, an Almont Police Officer in LaPeer County. Kayrouz is urging the Michigan State Legislature to strengthen the FOIA laws and to increase punishment for violations of those laws.
After her son fled the accident scene, Officer Szymanski went to the accident scene and lied to investigators, claiming she was in the vehicle with her son when the accident occurred, according to Ali Ajrouch, lead attorney of the Kayrouz Law Firm.
"This isn't just a case about an accident involving a hardworking Amazon delivery driver and an unaccompanied underaged driver, or even just about a mother who wanted to protect her son," Ajrouch said.
"As a police officer, Officer Szymanski should know the difference between right and wrong, and yet she used her position and influence to avoid justice. She corrupted the process. Her influence blocked the legal process from arriving at the truth. The Integrity of the Michigan FOIA system is at stake. The public must be assured that this type of insider interference to corrupt a process will not happen again.", Ajrouch added.
The 40-year-old Amazon driver was in a coma for over one week after suffering severe traumatic brain injury including intracranial bleeding and a skull fracture. His injuries required multiple surgeries including a craniectomy, clavicle surgery and ear surgery. These devastating injuries have permanently deprived him from being able to support his young family now and in the future.
The accident involving Officer Szymanski's underaged son occurred in Dryden Township on Sunday, July 2, 2023, when the Amazon delivery driver was struck by a GMC Acadia in LaPeer County driven by Officer Szymanski's 15-year-old son.
"While the focus during the past year has been on Officer Szymanski's deceitful and unprofessional conduct, a man was seriously injured and left defenseless at an accident site in a sparsely-populated rural area. Shockingly, Officer Szymanski's conduct has prevented our client from receiving the urgent and immediate medical care he so badly needed at the scene," Kayrouz said, noting that "efforts" have been made by the Dryden Township Law Department not to cooperate in providing requested required FOIA disclosures. Litigation is still ongoing.
"No citizen is safe if this kind of clout interference blocks justice so easily for so long. It raises questions about Szymanski's role in these delays. It is too easy for someone on the inside like Officer Szymanski to manipulate public information and result in a delay in the process of justice. She swore an oath to protect the public and defend the rights of victims, but instead through her actions and those of the Dryden Township Law Department, the rights of my client have been greatly compromised and so has the public's faith in our system of justice," Kayrouz said.
"This is not, however, a blanket indictment of the responsibility of law-abiding police officers who everyday place their lives on the line to defend the public". Kayrouz and Ajrouch praised the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office after the case was referred from the Lapeer County Prosecutor's office to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office per the normal conflict of interest process. The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office has now authorized criminal charges against Officer Szymanski and her son in connection with the crash.
Kayrouz and Ajrouch said Officer Szymanski's interference in the case to protect her son is right out of a Hollywood television series, "Your Honor," in which a judge used his powers to protect his son, who was also involved in a car crash which resulted in a fatality.
"Szymanski's actions raise questions about the role of the police to protect the public. These are questions that must be raised and addressed. Something must be done to strengthen not only the FOIA laws, but to also discourage anyone in the justice system from so easily manipulating the pursuit of justice. This type of internal interference cannot be repeated".
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Joumana Kayrouz
24370 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield, MI 48075
(248) 557-3645
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