OAKLEY, MI — A Michigan agency investigating Oakley has commanded the village to hand over documents related to its police department and 100-member reserve force.

A subpoena and four-page attachment issued to Village Clerk Cheryl Bolf on July 15, obtained by The Saginaw News through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows six categories of records that the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) has commanded the village to produce.

It requests documentation about the police force, donations made by law enforcement officers and records related to the village board and police chief.

The Saginaw News published an investigative series beginning in late March on the about 300-resident village with a police reserve force a third that size. The Michigan Municipal League had notified the village it would be dropped from insurance coverage because of the number of lawsuits filed against the village and its officials and because of the police department's lack of cooperation.

Chief of Police Robert Reznick has said his reserve force is there to help the about a dozen certified police officers. Reznick said some reservists have never been to the village, but they are prepared to help in case of an emergency. Many of the reserve police officers live outside of Saginaw County and make donations to the village, he said.

As reservists, they are able to apply for expanded concealed pistol licenses that would allow them to carry hidden firearms in places including churches, schools and stadiums.

Related: Proposed law would give state oversight of reserve officers

Village clerk Cheryl Bolf and former president Douglas Shindorf at a March village board meeting. Shindorf died of leukemia in June.

MCOLES confirmed in July that it was conducting a joint investigation with the Michigan Attorney General's Office of the village in southwest Saginaw County.

Bolf was commanded to produce materials requested in the subpoena by Wednesday, July 30.

MCOLES Executive Director David Harvey said he could not comment about the case or say if Bolf had produced the documents. He said MCOLES has been in talks with the village.

The subpoena, signed by Harvey, asks for the following records created since January 2008 for inspection and copying:

A Freedom of Information Act request by The Saginaw News for the names of reserve officers and information about financial donations including copies of checks was denied in April.

Saginaw County Circuit Judge Robert Kaczmarek in February denied a lawsuit filed by the owners of the Oakley Family Tavern asking the judge to order the village release the names and addresses of those serving as police reservists in Oakley and the names and address of every donor to Oakley's police fund. The lawsuit came after the village denied the bar owner's Freedom of Information Act requests for the information.

Kaczmarek ruled the names of reservists and financial donors could be kept private, but said the names of inactive reservists should be released. The case is now in the appeal process.

Documents delivered to Bolf define "law enforcement officers" as "all individuals to whom law enforcement authority of any kind has been conveyed by the Village of Oakley or its employees, agents, or officers, regardless of the individuals' titles or positions, and regardless of whether the individuals are deemed to be employees, agents, appointees, reserve officers, or volunteers, acting on behalf of the Village of Oakley Police Department, or any predecessor or successor law enforcement agencies affiliated with the Village of Oakley."

An attachment to the subpoena states if the subpoena is not obeyed, MCOLES may petition the circuit court to require the attendance of a witness or the production of documents, and the court may issue an order requiring a person to appear or to produce documents.

If the court issues such an order and the person named in the subpoena fails to comply, he or she could be punished by the court as being in contempt of court, the subpoena attachment states.

Bolf declined comment, saying the matter is in the hands of attorneys.

— Brad Devereaux is a public safety reporter for MLive/The Saginaw News. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+