Judge tosses lawsuits over Wyandotte elementary school cell tower
WYANDOTTE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A lawsuit over a cell tower on top of a Wyandotte elementary school has been dismissed by a judge, citing government immunity for the Wyandotte Public School District and other officials.
Several families are upset about the tower and have questioned the potential health risks to children.
Last year, T-Mobile installed a tower atop Washington Elementary School in Wyandotte after having to delay construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, families called on the school board to remove the tower, but the board declined.
"It feels like something was stolen from our neighborhood," said Nicole Zeld, a former student and mother of two students enrolled at Washington Elementary. "You know, this is our school. This is the school that I went to. This is the school I want my kids to go to. I live right down the street. It's unfair that we're being told, 'Well, why don't you just go to a different school?' It's our school. Why should we have to leave? You leave."
Josh Castmore, an attorney representing the families involved in the lawsuit and father of two children attending the school, says he was shocked by the judge's decision.
"My reaction is, I'm pretty shocked," he said. "Honestly, we had an injunction that was put in place about three weeks before he argued the motion to dismiss. "
A second lawsuit was dismissed after a judge ruled that parents could have gone through different channels to get the tower taken down instead of filing a lawsuit.