KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Following a suit in federal court, a woman who accused a former officer from Van Buren County of rape will now be awarded more than $100,000.
Former Covert Township Officer Erich Fritz was convicted of taking Melissa McMillan to a hotel after pulling over and arresting the driver of the vehicle she was a passenger of for drunk driving in July 2016.
Prosecutors previously alleged that Fritz took her to two hotel rooms, where he raped her on three seperate occasions later that same night. Those charges were eventually dropped and Fritz has since served a jail sentence on a lesser charge.
The plaintiff filed a federal lawsuit on July 2nd, 2018 where she claimed she was subject to unwanted sexual advances and assualt by Fritz, including statutory violations of the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
McMillan claimed that she was heavily intoxicated after leaving a South Haven bar right before the traffic stop, and passed out after being taken by Fritz to the second hotel. She said that when she woke up she found the officer on top of her performing unprotected sex without her consent, as well as taking naked photos of her while she was drunk in the room.
The complaint filed by McMillan’s attorneys says that after she initially entered his police cruiser, Fritz shut off his in-car camera and audio recorder within 90 minutes of pulling away. During testimony in a preliminary hearing, the victim detailed how she went to the hospital next day where she had a sexual assault kit done at the suggestion of her ex-boyfriend.
On Thursday, January 30th, McMillan was awarded $105,000 in damages by Fritz and Covert Township after months of litigation.
Fritz was only an officer for nearly two months when the alleged assault occured. He resigned within two weeks of the incident and became subject to an ensuing criminal investigation, from which eventual charges were brought.
In exchange for pleading guilty to a single account of unlawful imprisonment in June 2019, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping. Fritz was sentenced on July 17th, 2017 in Van Buren County Circuit Court to one year in jail and five years in probation for the offense, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars.
During the sentencing of the former cop, he apologized to McMillan for offering her a hotel room but stopped short of apologizing for any other actions. His attorney maintained that his client had not admitted to any criminal sexual misconduct and that everything that occured that night was ultimately consensual.
Both Van Buren County and the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office were originally included as parties to the civil lawsuit for their failure to train officers and prevent assault, but were dismissed from the final case.
The funds used to pay for the settlement will be drawn from the Michigan Township Participating Plan, which provides property and casualty insurance coverage to public entities in the state.
