BY LARRY SOBCZAK
EDITOR
Bruce Township Clerk Susan Brockmann was formerly arraigned Jan. 19 before New Baltimore 42-2 District Judge William Hackel III.
She was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) with a high blood alcohol content (BAC) from an incident that allegedly occurred on Sept. 11 at the Bruce Township Hall parking lot.
Hackel entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Brockmann.
In late September, Brockmann’s attorney, Chris Fisher, had asked Romeo 42-2 District Court Judge Denis LeDuc to waive a formal arraignment.
LeDuc recused himself from Brockmann’s case a day before her first pretrial hearing was scheduled in Decemeber.
Brockmann’s case was transferred to Hackel at the New Baltimore District Court.
At the Jan. 19 pretrial hearing, Fisher asked Hackel to adjourn the hearing in order to discuss the matter with the Macomb County Prosecutor’s office.
“We have some ongoing negotiations and we ask for adjournment,” Fisher said.
Hackel agreed and Brockmann’s next pretrial hearing was rescheduled for 9 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 22.
At the Bruce Township Board of Trustees meeting in Decemeber, Brockmann said she would not comment further on the case.
Brockmann’s trouble began early Sunday morning Sept. 11 when Michigan State Troopers responded to a breaking and entering alarm at the township hall shortly before 3 a.m.
Troopers said they found Brockmann seated in her vehicle.
As a trooper approached Brockmann’s vehicle, she allegedly placed her Silver Jeep Commander into reverse and allegedly backed into the trooper’s patrol car, causing minor damage but no injuries.
The trooper asked Brockmann to perform field sobriety tests which the trooper alleges she failed.
The trooper said Brockmann refused to perform a preliminary breathalyzer test so she was transported to the New Baltimore police station to administer a breathalyzer test or blood test that would be admissible in court.
At the police station, Haddad said that Brockmann consented to a breath test and the test results indicated she had a blood alcohol content of 0.20 percent at 4:24 a.m. A second test administered at 4:29 a.m. allegedly indicated her blood alcohol content was at 0.18 percent.
Blood alcohol content above 0.08 percent is considered drunk according to Michigan driving laws. A blood alcohol content above 0.18 percent is considered “super drunk” under Michigan law and drivers face stiffer penalties if convicted.
