Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Dearborn Cop Fatally Shoots Unarmed African American Man in Detroit
Candice Williams and Tom Greenwood
The Detroit News 6:40 p.m. EST
December 23, 2015

Detroit — A Dearborn police officer fatally shot an unarmed suspect on the city’s west side after the man allegedly went for the officer’s weapon, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The shooting took place around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 8000 block of Whitcomb.

The off-duty officer — who has reportedly only been on the Dearborn Police Department for a few years — spotted the 34-year-old man suspected of a larceny from a few days ago.

The officer tried to stop the suspect who then ran.

According to the source, the officer and suspect got into a wrestling match before the suspect broke free and ran again. The officer caught up with him and tried to subdue him with pepper spray.

The suspect then reportedly tried to grab the officer’s weapon, at which point he was shot by the officer, according to the source.

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad confirmed the suspect was wanted for a misdemeanor warrant out of Redford Township, near Dearborn’s border with Detroit.

There was a brief chase on foot and a struggle leading to the fatal shooting, Haddad said.

The officer was taken to the hospital, Haddad said.

The officer is white and the suspect was black. Police did not release the name of the man nor information about the officer.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said there was clearly a struggle between the man and the officer.

In addition to the warrant, the man was suspected of numerous crimes in the area, Craig said.

Because the shooting occurred in the city of Detroit, the Detroit Police Department will conduct an investigation as well as Michigan State Police.

The Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying it planned to look into the shooting.

“We remain vigilant about these shootings, and will withhold any other statements until our investigators have completed a fact-finding,” coalition spokesman Ken Reed said. “We want to make sure that proper procedures were followed, and will continue to monitor Dearborn and Detroit police departments relative to this incident.”

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