PONTIAC, Mich. – The family of a mother and two children who froze to death in Oakland County are suing and pointing to a deputy’s expletive-laden rant about the case, which was caught on body camera footage.
Two lawsuits were filed Friday, March 7, in support of a girl whose family froze to death sleeping in a Pontiac field. One for the three family members who died and one for the surviving daughter.
The lawsuit alleges the sheriff’s deputies' actions were impacted by their biases on class and race.
Both lawsuits filed can be read at the bottom of this page.
It happened in 2023. 35-year-old Monica Cannady and her two sons were found dead in a vacant street off Branch Street. Her 10-year-old daughter survived and was taken to the hospital with hypothermia-like symptoms.
Before she died, her family said Monica Cannady was in the middle of a mental health crisis and had become increasingly paranoid, believing everyone was out to get her. The family alleges law enforcement knew she was going through a mental health crisis and put her children in danger, but that several deputies refused to help.
What happened
On Jan. 13, 2023, officials received their first 911 calls regarding Cannady and her children, who were walking the streets of Pontiac and asking for help. The family reportedly was not wearing winter clothing and were wrapped in bed sheets.
Shortly after, a deputy spoke to Cannady and her children at McLaren Oakland Hospital. The lawsuit alleges the deputy was aggressive and combative, which furthered Cannady’s belief that people were out to get her.
“The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office knew the family was vulnerable and in grave danger,” the lawsuit alleges. “Reacting with hostility, disgust, and blatant indifference to the welfare of this young family, the defendant Sheriff’s Deputies took actions which exacerbated Monica Cannady’s mental health crisis and placed her and her children in a heightened state of danger, directly resulting in her death, the death of two of her children, and the permanent injury to her surviving child.”
After the conversation at the hospital, Cannady and her children left the hospital, with the deputy following them down Woodward Avenue. Despite showing “objective signs of mental distress,” which was also communicated by hospital personnel, the deputy did not contact Child Protective Services, the Sheriff’s Office’s crisis prevention team or its social worker on staff.
Shortly after receiving information from the family that confirmed Cannady was suffering a mental health crisis, another Good Samaritan reportedly called 911 after seeing her near the intersection of Franklin Road and Rapid Street. The lawsuit alleges the caller told police he believed they were in danger as Cannady appeared to be mentally impaired with three crying children.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Alex Kazal was dispatched to the scene for a wellness check, but allegedly did not leave the patrol vehicle. Bodycam footage captures Kazal telling the Good Samaritan that there was nothing he could do and leaving after claiming he received another call that he needed to respond to first.
The lawsuit claims there wasn’t another call, Kazal was dispatched to search for Cannady and her family and decided not to.
After leaving the scene, Kazal’s bodycam captured a vulgar 15-minute call with a superior, where he expressed anger and disgust at being asked to search for the family in need, saying it’s “homeless people being homeless.”
“What really grinds my gears is that these people can’t just mind their own [expletive] business.”
“What do you want me to do? Take protective custody of the [expletive] kids?”
“The kids will still be there in an hour when we get another welfare check.”
“I just don’t [expletive] give a [expletive], dude. [expletive] dudes waiting there, [expletive] doing all this other [homophobic slur] [expletive].”
Excerpts from the bodycam footage provided by the family
The Good Samaritan -- identified as Chuck Johnson -- continued to make 911 calls, updating authorities on Cannady and her family’s location. After multiple 911 calls, deputies arrived at the scene that evening to do a search. Deputy John Brish reportedly told deputies he made sure to wave his flashlight around to make it look like he was searching for the family.
The next day, Jan. 14, Cannady and her children continued to wander on foot, knocking on doors for help. That night, she told her children they were going to sleep outside in a field because police were trying to kill them. The field was near Franklin Road and Rapid Street, where authorities received multiple 911 calls about Cannady prior.
On Jan. 15, Cannady’s 10-year-old daughter woke up to find her mother and two brothers were dead.
The lawsuit alleges that the inaction of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office played a direct role in the deaths of Monica Cannady, Kyle and Malik Milton.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement:
OCSO vehemently denies that any actions of OCSO personnel caused the tragic deaths of Ms. Cannady and her two young sons. As the attached timeline sets forth, numerous efforts were made by OCSO personnel to help Ms. Cannady and her children. However, she refused all such efforts made by OCSO deputies to help.
Importantly, at no time did any OCSO deputy have a legal basis to detain the family. After reviewing bodycam footage of OCSO personnel during that timeline, numerous statements were made by one former OCSO deputy sheriff that were not in keeping with OCSO standards of conduct for its deputies. An internal affairs investigation was initiated and the deputy resigned before a disciplinary review could be completed.
No further statement will be made by OCSO regarding this matter due to threatened litigation by Ms. Cannady’s family
Public Information Officer Stephen W Huber
