Thanks to a FOIA Request, we now have the full story about Former Portage City Manager Michael Carroll’s arrest and whether he abused his position during his drunk driving stop.
The answer unequivocally, is yes.
Quick Recap
When Portage Deputy City Manager Michael Carroll was pulled over on August 27, 2020, for driving the wrong way down South 12th Street, the night already looked bad for him. By the end of the stop, it looked worse; not just because of his blood alcohol level, but because of what investigators believe he tried to do once the flashing lights were behind him.
The Report Findings
According to the independent review by Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, Carroll was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated High BAC after refusing roadside sobriety tests and both preliminary and chemical breath tests. A warrant was obtained, and his blood alcohol content clocked in at 0.221, nearly three times Michigan’s legal limit.
Under Michigan’s Impaired Driving Laws, he should have been under enhanced penalties; he did not.
The report confirms the Portage Police Department (PPD) followed policy to the letter; even going so far as to call in the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department to avoid any appearance of favoritism once they learned Carroll was a high-ranking city official. The stop, investigation, and charge were all “appropriate and the most serious readily provable offense given the facts.”
Revisiting the Body Cam Footage
But the most damning finding isn’t just the drunk driving. It’s the moment caught on bodycam where Carroll placed his City of Portage Deputy City Manager badge on his door for the officer to see. Investigators concluded a reasonable person could see this as an attempt to gain favorable treatment.
Whether this was a drunken lapse in judgment or a calculated move, the optics are bad. And in public service, optics wholeheartedly matter.
Instead of immediate termination, the investigators recommended a “last chance” employment agreement; 12 to 24 months of probation, mandatory alcohol counseling, and an automatic firing for any future criminal conviction or credible abuse of authority.
The Bottom Line
The big takeaway is that no regular person would have received this kind of leniency. There are few prosecutors who would have taken mercy on Carroll.
No, what Michael Carroll received was preferential treatment; solely for being a member of the Good Ole Boys Club.
An average person would likely have lost their job. Instead, Carroll kept his, even if the city claim they kept him on a short leash until he returned to Illinois. He did not report his drunk driving conviction in either state.
The report clears the police of wrongdoing but it also makes clear how close Portage came to having a public integrity scandal on its hands. Especially since Warner Norcross + Judd LLP is well known for crisis management.
If the badge ploy had worked, we might be telling a very different story.
Michael Carroll’s Attorney Disicipline Complaint remains in review.
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