Postill Fight Continues

Postill Fight Continues

After six investigations, three damage suits, and a court hearing involving 23 witnesses, the political hoopla in the Washtenaw County Sheriff's race still hasn't let up.

Pinned down in a weathering barrage of accusations, incumbent Sheriff Frederick Postill is digging in for the heavy artillery expected to start up as the November election draws near.

Democrat Postill is fighting off a Republican newspaper that blankets the county and the powerful Teamsters Union, among others.

Postill, who survived the Democratic primary August 3, still faces another onslaught -- his trial on assault charges stemming from a July 11 fight at a wedding reception in Chelsea, Mich.

Postill has publicly declared his innocence and filed a counter-suit for libel and assault against Sheriff's Deputy Basil Baysinger. Postill and Baysinger accuse each other of starting the fight.

Postill's suspension of Baysinger after the fight brought an accusatory union grievance from Teamsters' Local 214, which organizes police officers in Washtenaw County.

Postill has outspokenly challenged the law-enforcement priorities of the Washtenaw County Prosecutor and the Michigan State Police in recent years. He is now threatening to sue Washtenaw County Prosecutor William Delhey himself, on charges of leaking adverse investigative information to sympathetic newspapers and concealing favorable information from Postill's attorneys.

Postill now appears to be lining his sights for a burst of legal counterattacks as his trial draws near.

Photo caption: Washtenaw Co. Sheriff Fred Postill