A sheriff’s deputy in Ogemaw County could face up to five years in prison.
That’s if he’s convicted of assault and battery, and misconduct in office charges which were announced on Wednesday, August 24.
State authorities allege the deputy assaulted an autistic resident of an assisted living home while responding to a call last year.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says Deputy Matthew Viviano did not comply with department rules on use of force.
"It should be noted that Deputy Viviano did not report his use of force to anyone and never completed a report regarding his use of force and never reported that he responded to the scene at all," Nessel said.
The charges come as part of a “Public Integrity Unit” investigation within the Department of Attorney General.
In a separate case, Nessel will not pursue charges against East Lansing Police Department officers for shooting a suspect in a Meijer parking lot this past April.
Officials say the officers fired a total of eight rounds at the suspect after responding to a call about someone entering the Meijer while wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun. Department-released materials appear to show law enforcement chasing the suspect through a Meijer parking lot before shooting him twice.
Nessel says her office feels “very confident” about clearing the officers in this case.
“We look at the totality of the circumstances and we look to see whether or not there was a deadly threat that was posed either to law enforcement or to members of the public," Nessel said.
Nessel says the suspect was carrying a loaded gun at the time of the incident, but did not give further details about what the officers knew about the suspect before chasing him out of the store and into the parking lot.
He now faces charges relating to the gun and for allegedly shoplifting corn.