Investigation of deadly cruiser crash will go to AG
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Department of Attorney General is expected to review the evidence after a man was hit and killed by an unmarked cruiser.
Detectives with the Michigan State Police Fifth District Investigative Response Team are investigating the death of 25-year-old Samuel Sterling. They will share evidence with the attorney general’s office, which will review the investigation and ultimately decide whether to issue charges, according to a Thursday release from MSP.
Death certificate: Man hit by unmarked cruiser had ‘multiple blunt force injuries’
“My public integrity unit has investigated dozens of police-involved incidents and is dedicated to providing a thorough and just review and resolution in each one,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in a statement. “Public integrity is a top priority for my department, which is why we have grown the unit, allowing us to take on all criminal reviews of events involving an on-duty Michigan State Police trooper.”
Sterling, of Grand Rapids, died April 17. Troopers say they were looking for Sterling because he had outstanding felony warrants. They found him at a gas station in Kentwood, located at 52nd Street and Eastern Avenue. They say when they approached, Sterling ran away. Several officers chased him on foot and an MSP detective sergeant in an unmarked vehicle “drove parallel to him,” the MSP director said in a statement last week. Sterling and the officers ended up in the parking lot of a nearby Burger King. That’s where the unmarked cruiser hit Sterling, police say. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Family calls for video release, justice for man hit by MSP cruiser
His death certificate indicated he had “multiple blunt force injuries” and died about five hours after the crash. The manner of death was listed as “accident,” though Lori Latham, assistant county administrator in Kent County, said the accident ruling “does not preclude the prosecutor from pursuing a case if warranted by the evidence and applicable law.”
Sterling’s father, Michael Sterling, called his son’s death “senseless,” and the family is calling for MSP to release any video of the incident.
Father: Death of son hit by police car ‘senseless’
“We need to know, what’s so accidental? We need to see the video. We need to see what they saw. Justice. For Samuel. Show the video. What’s the officer’s name?” Samuel Sterling’s cousin Jermar Sterling previously said.
Samuel Sterling was a father of two young sons and a rapper, according to his family. His mother, Andrica Cage, remembered him as a “really loving, caring little boy” who “brought a lot of brightness to this world.”
Family: Man hit by unmarked cruiser was father, rapper
The detective sergeant who was driving the unmarked car has been suspended while the crash is under investigation.
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