First of all, the implication in the Defeat Karen Miller propaganda that there has been more than ONE investigation that I have been involved in is simply not true. To be clear, I was NEVER charged with anything or asked by the police to write a statement in relation to the “backyard” incident in August 2022. I happen to agree that the entire situation was unfortunate and the fact this was covered on FOX2 unnecessarily brought negative attention to our City. That said, the accounts of what happened have been mischaracterized lies that have been blown out of proportion - and the only reason FOX2 was present at that particular Council meeting AND came knocking on my front door earlier that day (as I was told by one of my neighbors) was because of a request that was made through personal relationships at the news outlet by one of the meeting attendees. That was evidenced by the outrageously one-sided coverage that aired and the fact that the reporter and crew left the meeting early, only after those certain residents gave their public comments, and conveniently before Council comments and my chance to respond.

Although my attorney has consistently advised that I not bother to justify these accusations with a detailed account of what occurred, in light of the continued misinformation being spread, namely by current Council candidate Jason Hammond and the Beras’, I feel it necessary to lay out exactly what happened that evening to put these rumors to rest once and for all and clarify that this was no “random group of concerned citizens.”  

In early August 2022, I sent an e-mail to a few residents asking if they would host a Meet & Greet for our new City Administrator, Susan Montenegro. One of my long-time friends called me the afternoon of Wednesday, August 10, 2022, to let me know that she was going out of town but would be willing to host one when she returned. We talked briefly to catch up on news with our families and about what was going on in the City and I wished her a happy vacation. A few hours later, I was surprised when my phone rang and it was her calling me back – I figured it was a misdial. However, I was even more surprised when I answered and she told me that her next door neighbors were having a meeting in their backyard with 10+ people, speaking solely about me, very audibly for anyone in the immediate vicinity to hear. I asked who her neighbors were and she said Bob and Lauren Beras. I had never met either of them and wondered why they would be hosting a gathering to talk about me. As an aside, my friend told me that they had ongoing issues with the Beras’ as difficult neighbors. Lauren Beras had recently falsely accused my friend's husband (also my friend) of using a BB gun in his yard. Bob Beras had confronted him and said he would contact the police. Unfortunately this information would soon become relevant.

At any rate, my friend promptly invited me over so I could witness this gathering for myself. When I arrived at my friend’s house, she, her husband and I went to sit outside at her patio table in her backyard – where we were sitting for LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. In that time, I very clearly heard a man saying that I had caused two divorces, run people out of the community and that I had “dead bodies buried everywhere.” He also said there was one thing I did well - find people’s buttons and push them. I then heard who I knew to be former Councilman Ian Ferguson mocking the many years I spent serving on the Southfield Public Schools School Board and claiming that I cost the City a lot of money. It was alarming to hear Ferguson continuing to actively spread lies about me, as he had been doing since 2015.

As a side note about 2015, I worked as a Realtor® with 2 Lathrup Village residents and Michigan First Credit Union when they were expanding the footprint of their offices at the corner of 11 Mile Rd. & Evergreen Rd. In the end, I negotiated very favorable deals for the 2 residents when they sold their homes to Michigan First Credit Union. AND, Lathrup Village is now collecting more than $750,000 per year in property taxes as our largest tax payer. Ferguson’s lies had damaged my reputation and my real estate career.  Click here to see the Michigan First Timeline documenting what REALLY happened - not Ferguson’s version. He wasn’t a party to either sale.

I then heard Jason Hammond laugh. I had previously blocked Hammond on Facebook because of months of constant harassment and bullying. (Click here to see full 1-18-22 e-mail - only a portion is posted on the propaganda website.) I recognized former Councilman Saleem Siddiqi, who lost his bid for re-election when Barb Kenez and I won our Council seats in 2021, when he said they needed to keep track of all of my votes and share that with the community on a dedicated website. Apparently that is what they did in preparation for their propaganda website dedicated to me. They discussed putting the information in the Your Town newsletter. We heard a woman say “I’ll go door-to-door with flyers listing everything she’s done in the last two years” – which was before I was even running for, let alone elected to Council. At one point, a woman yelled “We know you’re listening” but the conversation didn’t stop or get quieter. They knew their discussion was loud enough that people outside of their yard could hear it clearly, hardly a private conversation.

Shortly thereafter, we heard someone say they had to get going and another agreed. I told my friends that I had to let the group know that I was there. I thought they would be embarrassed. My friends said they would support me. The 3 of us stood up and walked toward the fence line between the two yards so I could announce my presence and have a chance to defend myself against the bold-faced lies being told about me within earshot. There was NO “hiding in the bushes.” I held my phone up as I walked over to the fence line because I felt I needed to document this interaction. (For instance, Hammond was always demanding proof of the statements I made when they related to conversations or meetings that took place. He even asked that evening if I had proof when I shared that I had been told Garrett told people at the congregation of LOGOS Church - a church she has financially supported - that I was racist and that I was going to take Lathrup back to the days of Louise Lathrup. Apparently the first-hand account I had from one of my friends who witnessed Garrett’s repulsive remarks was not enough for him.)  

Before we even made it to the fence (again, no one was hiding in any bushes), we were met with aggression – led by Ian Ferguson, Jason Hammond and Hammond’s cousin, Adam Laurie (who is not a Lathrup Village resident), who came to the fence aggressively demanding I “come in and talk to your constituents.” Unfortunately, my daughters had witnessed both Ferguson and Hammond’s aggression the night I was sworn into Council when they had a run-in with both men in the lobby of City Hall after the meeting. Ferguson claimed some of the people there voted for me but were unhappy since I had been in office. Though I had never met some of the people in the yard, I quickly realized the majority had been involved in personal attacks against me on the Villagers Facebook page, beginning with the first road millage – led by Mayor Pro-Tem Kantor – that failed back in 2019 after I organized a “vote No” campaign against it (see “...Roads” and “... Infrastructure” sections). I have video, e-mails and screenshots documenting the history of the personal attacks. 

Once I got to the fence line, I immediately recognized Cora Morgan, Mayor Pro-Tem Kantor’s wife, who had her back to me and was seemingly trying to sneak out before I could see her. I said “Cora is that you? Cora Morgan, is that you?” knowing full-well it was her. I also saw Mike Keenan (member of Kantor’s Infrastructure Committee and whose address on Saratoga is now listed as the Committee to Defeat Karen Miller) sneak out of the yard. Then I saw John Roberts - the man talking about my “buried dead bodies” - and I called him out by name (see below for more background). Morgan is an Administrator on the Villagers page. Lauren Beras is a Moderator on the page. I also saw Saleem Siddiqi, as well as two men I didn’t recognize that I later learned were Dane Johnson (another Villagers moderator) and Chuck Snelling (Johnson’s partner). 

Ferguson began taunting me and my friends - something I had personally experienced and witnessed him do multiple times in the past. My friends were trying to defend me and Ferguson called my friend “old man,” told him he was “hiding behind his wife” and he said "go wet the bed, old man.” Hammond was holding his phone up in front of my face to film me, so after being interrogated but not actually given a chance to complete a sentence without being interrupted by Hammond and Laurie, I turned my camera on as well. Ferguson continued the taunting and my friend asked her husband to go in the house. As he was going into the house, I heard Hammond say “No sir, don’t get a gun.” Someone told the group that he was getting a gun and to call the police. At that point, Ian Ferguson snuck out of the backyard, but no one else in the yard moved. I have to believe that if anyone actually feared someone was getting a gun, wouldn’t they have scattered? They did not. I didn’t hear my friend say anything about a gun. But I did remember what his wife told me about the false BB gun accusations from the Beras’ that had happened a few days earlier. 

As another side note, though I have current history with the majority of the people in the Beras’ yard, I hadn’t had interaction with John Roberts since the 1990s when he was on the Music Boosters board at Southfield-Lathrup High School. It’s a long story but Roberts, his wife and the other board members abruptly resigned from the board. I was elected as a new Vice President and a few days later received a call from the new President telling me that the Music Boosters’ bank account had been drained. I reached out to the Lathrup Village Police and was advised that the best course of action was to try and get the money back. I was able to piece together documentation that at least $41,000 had been taken from the Boosters. It was blamed on the treasurer. I met the treasurer’s husband at a bank in Berkley and he handed me a check for $41,000. I hadn’t spoken to Roberts since then. The treasurer moved from Southfield so I can only assume they are some of the people he claimed I drove away. But I’ve noticed he doesn’t mention anything about that embezzlement when sharing the “backyard” story. Since we’ve had no contact, I can only imagine he is holding a grudge from the 1990s.

Back to the yard. Instead of scattering, Hammond and Laurie continued hurling accusations at me, while telling me I really needed to smile more, until 3 Lathrup Village Police cars pulled up. When they arrived, I immediately walked to the front yard to talk to our police officers. Ironically, the footage that was shared with FOX2 and continues to be circulated of me supposedly "fleeing the scene” was actually taken by Hammond and was of me walking directly toward the police car to speak to them. There was no "fleeing the scene" – I didn't leave until after speaking to the officers and spending some time inside my friends' home.

When my friend and I spoke with the police officers, they asked my friend's husband if he had a gun. He said no. When I saw Ferguson and Bob Beras writing statements, I asked if we needed to do the same and the police officers told me no because "this isn't going anywhere." I asked for the statement forms just in case. My primary concern at that moment was that my friends had been drawn into the political mess that had been brewing for years and I wanted to make sure they were protected. The police officers left and the 3 of us went back inside their home.

The next morning (Thursday), I reached out to the City Administrator, Susan Montenegro. She didn't answer. I left a message telling her that it was very important that I talked to her and asked her to call me back. I also called Councilwoman Kenez to let her know what had happened. After not hearing from Montenegro, I texted her to ask if she got my message and she let me know she’d been at the animal hospital all day with her dog. I expected to hear from Montenegro on Friday, but I did not. I reached out again, but got no response. She finally called me Saturday morning and to my surprise, let me know that the incident had been turned over to the Oakland County Sheriff's Dept. because it was a conflict of interest because I was on Council. By this time, information had been posted on the Villagers FB page and statements were made that video footage would be shared at the Council meeting Monday night. I shared that with Montenegro and she assured me that no one would be allowed to discuss the situation at the meeting because it was an "open investigation." I was comforted knowing that, but then I received an e-mail from Montenegro on Monday afternoon to let me know she "misspoke" and that "everyone deserved the right to free speech." I was stunned and reached out to my daughters for support. All along I believed that the issue was that my friend supposedly said he was getting a gun.

On Monday evening, my daughters and I arrived at City Hall before the Study Session and Council meeting. I was walking behind one of the men I had seen at the backyard meeting but didn’t recognize who was now wearing camouflage gear (John Shaw). As I approached the Council room, I heard Mayor Garrett say to him "I thought you weren't coming." Garrett stopped talking as soon as she saw me. I was surprised to see her in a tight red dress, high heels and hair and make-up done. She was running around trying to get Zoom to work - nothing I had seen her do previously. The Study Session started. There wasn't much on the agenda. When Garrett started talking about the Ethics Ordinance and other things that were not on the agenda, I spoke up to ask why we were discussing topics that weren’t posted on the agenda, as that is not something Council is allowed to do per the Open Meetings Act. 

When my daughters and I went outside to wait until it was time for the regular Council meeting to begin, we noticed a FOX2 truck in the parking lot. As we were talking, a FOX2 reporter approached me asking, “Are you Karen Miller? Do you have any comment?” I didn't know what he was asking for a comment on and my daughter swiftly stepped in and said "no comment." I heard from my neighbors later that he had also been at my home earlier that day, but I had already left for the Study Session.  

My daughters and I went back inside for the Regular Council Meeting and the reporter and his crew were inside. Also inside were many of the people that had been at the Beras'. During public comment, members of the backyard group made it clear that they weren't concerned about the gun, they were accusing me of "felony eavesdropping" something I had never heard of. Both of my daughters spoke to defend me. The reporter and crew stayed to film the entire meeting but left right before Council comments when I had a chance to respond and defend myself. My daughters left the meeting and gave the reporter my statement before he went on air, which he read aloud. During the broadcast, an interview with Lauren Beras that had been filmed earlier that day was featured, along with footage from meeting attendees’ cell phones, specifically from Jason Hammond’s phone including the edited footage that attempted to make it look like I was running away from the scene, rather than showing that I was actually walking to the front yard to go to speak with the police officers to ensure a truthful account was given. In hindsight, it was also clear that Mayor Garrett was prepared for the FOX2 cameras and the entire spectacle. Everyone knew FOX2 was going to be there except me.

FOX2 then posted the story on their website, using a thumbnail photo of my daughter speaking on my behalf during the meeting. That thumbnail and video has regularly been exploited by L. Beras and Hammond and appears on the propaganda website – as soon as I saw it on the site, I went to the address on Saratoga that is registered with the Committee to Defeat Karen Miller, which I knew to be Mike Keenan's house, to tell him that I was fair game as an elected official but that my daughters weren't. I introduced myself as we had NEVER had a conversation even though he has been attacking me since 2015 (see Michigan First Timeline) - and asked him very calmly and politely to remove the thumbnail with the picture of my daughter from the website. I asked him to think about his daughter and whether or not he would want that for her. Of course, the thumbnail hasn't been removed.

A few days after the Council meeting, I received a call from an Oakland County Sheriff's Dept. Detective telling me that he was going out of town and would be in touch when he returned. In the meantime, I consulted with a few attorneys. I gave my verbal statement to the Detective when he returned and my attorney sent a letter to him pointing out the ridiculousness of the complaint filed against me. The Detective told me that they deal with political issues like this all the time and that they are focused on real criminals and serious crimes like murder. Since this was not a major story, it was shocking that FOX2 ran portions of this particular story on their commercials for almost 2 months - again, further evidence that somebody knows somebody and they called in a favor, rather than this incident justifying that amount of actual media attention. 

On October 21, 2022, my attorney called to let me know that there were no charges being filed and that the complaint had been dismissed. A person, elected or not, does have the right to protect themselves against slander, lies and attempts at character assassination. The fact that this crew – Garrett, Kantor, Hammond, Ferguson, Morgan, Medley, Keenan, Roberts, the Beras', Johnson, Snelling, etc. – continues to spread this fabricated version of what actually occurred and do it as if I had been charged with something, is further proof of their agenda to destroy my personal reputation.

This has nothing to do with my role as a City Council member, as there was conflict with most of this group before I ever decided to run for Council. While it might be nice to actually be that important, I believe I have interrupted something we aren't supposed to know about, I just have yet to figure out what that is.

Full “BS” e-Mail thread with Jason Hammond

Michigan First Credit Union Timeline