SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A deadly shooting involving a Shelby Township police officer earlier this month was deemed justified, the Macomb County Sheriff's Office and Prosecutor's Office announced on Thursday.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
The situation stems from a shooting on June 3, where a 41-year-old Troy man, identified as Thomas Jackson, was shot and killed by Shelby Township police officers.
Hear from the sheriff and the prosecutor in the video below
According to Macomb County Sheriff Tony Wickersham, officers pulled over Jackson in the area of 22 Mile and Van Dyke. He got out of the car and took off.
See bodycam video below of the shooting (WARNING: It is graphic and violent)
Officers gave chase and gave the suspect verbal commands to stop before tasing him twice, but the taser was ineffective, police said.
Jackson pulled out a handgun and continued to run, according to the sheriff's office, and Jackson was ordered to drop the gun. The officer fired eight shots, hitting Jackson five times, police said.
According to the sheriff's office, Jackson had a 9mm Ruger pistol in his possession that was reported stolen out of Detroit. Wickersham also said he had a suspended license and several valid warrants for his arrest, a lot of them related to traffic offenses and failure to appear in several cities and townships.
Watch our report from the scene on June 3 in the video below
Watch Chopper 7 video of the scene below:
After the investigation by the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, it was forwarded to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office for review.
Prosecutor Peter Lucido said that his office determined the shooting to be valid. When asked why it was deemed justified, Lucido said, "You have to look at the reason as it relates to once the stop has been made, why did he get out of the car and run. Also, once there's a gun involved, there's a lethal duty to protect all others around and the officers around.
"All he had to do was drop to the ground and obey the command of the officer," Lucido added.
7 News Detroit spoke with two former law enforcement professionals to get their perspective on the situation following the release of the video.
"If he hadn't pulled the gun, they probably would have taken him into custody, and nothing would have happened, and they recovered the weapon. He wouldn't have been hurt. Everything would have been good," says Steve Dolunt, Retired Detroit Assistant Police Chief. "Once he pulled the gun out and the guy’s yelling, the cop’s yelling, ‘stop,’ once that happens and, again, we watched it, we couldn't tell if he's tripping or bending over to get the gun or, you know, he had the gun and then um again you got your jury/executioner in the middle - matter of seconds. The whole thing took 32 seconds, right? 32 seconds."
"For me and anybody I worked with, we’re not drawing our taser if we see a gun in his hand,' says Larry Campbell, Retired DPD Internal Affairs. "At that point, I think the officer was legitimately trying to apprehend him and take him into custody, but the gun changes the game. The verbal commands change the game."
The sheriff and the prosecutor said they did sit down with Jackson's family and their attorney before the press conference.
"This type of incident is hard for everybody involved, the officers involved and the family," Wickersham said.
Ven Johnson, the president of Ven Johnson Law, released the following statement to 7 News Detroit:
The Thomas Antonio Jackson family is deeply disappointed that criminal charges will not be brought against the Shelby Township officer who shot and killed Thomas.
The bodycam footage speaks for itself. Thomas clearly did not intend to harm the officer or anyone else. Running away from a police officer by a person who is not threatening an officer or anyone else, should not result in a death sentence.
The family has retained Ven Johnson Law to fully and completely investigate this case from the civil law perspective, and that is exactly what we will do.
