Flint activists livid with water investigation reset; mayor agrees with move

FLINT, Mich. (FOX 2) - After three and a half years, more than $30 million taxpayer dollars spent investigating and prosecuting in the Flint water crisis, now charges against nine state and Flint officials dropped.

The move wipes clean involuntary manslaughter charges against two key players in the crisis.  

The state Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud released a statement Thursday claiming they've uncovered new evidence including millions of documents and hundreds of electronic devices. 

Hammoud said: "We cannot provide the citizens of Flint the investigation they rightly deserve by continuing to build on a flawed foundation. Dismissing these cases allows us to move forward according to the non-negotiable requirements of a thorough, methodical and ethical investigation."

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said she backed the shocking decision. 

"Some people were being charged with misdemeanors and we know what happened here was much higher than a misdemeanor and we didn't think everybody was being held accountable," Weaver said.

Weaver welcomes further investigation even though it could be years before anyone is charged or charged again. 

"Delayed justice is better than no justice, and what happened was criminal and people should not get away with what happened here," she said. 

Special Prosecutor Todd Flood led the Flint Water Crisis investigation for the state but was fired when Attorney General Dana Nessel took office in January.

Flood reacted to the news earlier Thursday.

"I don't think our investigation is flawed I think it was continuous and thorough and I think we were doing everything right, we believe," Flood said.

Flood tells FOX 2 this investigation isn't about him…it's about justice for Flint. 

"I don't want to besmirch or say anything negative about any one person," he said. "That doesn't get us anywhere."

But not everyone is hopeful with the news investigation. 

"What was happening was progress and this is a complete setback like worse than before," said Melissa Mays, Flint resident and activist. 

Mays has been one of the biggest voices to narrate the crisis. She still doesn't trust the water - but at least took comfort that people were being punished for what happened to her city and her family. Now, she is back to waiting.

"In two years who is going to care, who's going to be alive, or how many residents who are hanging on won't be here or will just give up and move," she said. 

There are a lot of questions and valid concerns here on the ground in Flint - the solicitor general is holding a town hall meeting here the end of the month.