Is it legal to record phone calls that you are a party to in Michigan?

It is not illegal to record a conversation that you are a party to in Michigan because the statute makes it illegal to eavesdrop on a conversation. If you're a party to the conversation that you record then you can't be eavesdropping. It's important to point out that being a party means that the other people on the conversation know that you are a party. You don't have to inform the other party and the police officer is wrong. After countless depositions of cops, I've come to the conclusion that few know the laws they have been empowered to enforce.

As long as you are a KNOWN party to the call you can record the conversation. You do not have to inform the other party that you are recording. I have put emphasis on "KNOWN" party because you cannot simply be sitting in a room recording a call between two people. I'm not understanding what the police officer was getting at though. I have a suspicion that the police officer was thinking of some sort of government agency recording a call in the context of a criminal investigation. In that instance, the government agency could not record and/or listen in on a call without the issuance of a court order. A little more information about your specific situation may help me to better answer your question.