Flint whistleblowing officer wins appeal

FLINT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has given new life to a lawsuit by a Flint police officer who says he was put on road patrol in a dangerous area because he criticized how tax dollars were spent.

The court reversed a decision by the state appeals court and sent Kevin Smith’s case back to a Genesee County judge.

Smith was a full-time police union president until Flint’s emergency manager eliminated the position in 2012.

He says he later got in trouble when he criticized how Flint was spending a special property tax for public safety.

In a recent order, the high court says Smith has sufficiently alleged discrimination under Michigan’s whistleblower law on the basis of a job reassignment during undesirable hours at an undesirable location.