Clinton County prosecutor clears Bath Township sergeant in Jan. 2 fatal shooting

BATH TWP. – A township police officer who shot and killed a man after responding to a domestic dispute will not face charges and has been cleared in an internal investigation, officials said late Friday.

An officer identified only as "Sgt. Hamilton" shot and killed Lucas Charles Gainforth on Jan. 2 at Dutch Hills, a mobile home park on Upton Road.

In a statement, Clinton County Prosecutor Tony Spagnuolo called the incident a tragedy for all involved and said “…the shooting at issue was a reasonable use of force given the circumstances at hand at the time of the shooting. If a police officer shooting is justified, such as the one in this case, then it has to be reasonable. When Mr. Gainforth left the house with two pistols and proceeded to point them in the direction of both Sgt. Hamilton and his own mother, a reasonable officer in the position of Sgt. Hamilton would have felt that both his life, and the life of Mr. Gainforth's mother were in danger.”

Body camera video released on Jan. 5 showed Gainforth, whose name was released by police for the first time Friday, standing on a porch and pointing a gun in the direction of Hamilton and a woman police described as Gainforth’s mother, who were both standing outside. Several times, Hamilton yelled for Gainforth to drop the gun, but the 24-year-old replied with "(expletive) you."

Hamilton fired at least 10 rounds before Gainforth fell to the porch, and officers removed two handguns from him before trying to render medical aid.

Police later determined both guns were "replicas."

Spagnuolo said Hamilton would have had no way to know the guns weren’t real.

“Even though the guns at issue ended up being airsoft guns, because of the lengths that Mr. Gainforth had taken to modify them in a way that took the identifiable features of such guns away, a reasonable officer in the position of Sgt. Hamilton would not have been able to tell that the pistols were not 'real guns,'" Spagnuolo said in his statement. “As a result, the lethal force that Sgt. Hamilton used in response of the perceived threat was justified and not excessive given the gravity of the situation. A video of the shooting has been released and is viewable by the public. After concluding an extensive investigation into the facts and evidence of this case, no further action will be taken.”

Michigan State Police investigated the incident, and Bath Township Police Chief Gary Smith said that investigation was complete and turned over to Spagnuolo on Jan. 20, although State Police made no such announcement.

Hamilton, who Smith said has 16 years of experience, was placed on administrative leave during the investigation, Smith told the State Journal earlier this month.

In his statement Friday, Smith said Hamilton was cleared in an internal investigation.

“The Bath Township Police Department recently finished our internal department investigation into this incident and found that department policies and procedures were not violated. This was a tragedy for all involved. Our hearts go out to Sgt. Hamilton and his family, as well as the family of the deceased, 24-year-old Lucas Charles Gainforth,” Smith said.

The incident occurred about 1:45 p.m. When Hamilton responded to the call at the residence inside the manufactured home community, he exchanged a few words with Gainforth before the man went inside and slammed the door, the department said previously.

Gainforth's mother came outside and advised Hamilton "you better get some help" and "he's higher than a freakin' kite," video released by township police shows.

"He wants to die today is what he came home at 1 o'clock and told me, for whatever reason, I don't know," the woman said, telling the sergeant she wanted her son to be medically evaluated.

At 2 p.m., the man stepped onto the porch and held a handgun in the direction of his mother and the officer. The man yelled expletives at the sergeant when he was told to drop the weapon, the video indicates.

After Hamilton fired at least 10 rounds, other officers arrived at 2:04 p.m. Officers then removed two guns from the man and pulled him off the porch before attending to his injuries.

Reporter Ken Palmer contributed.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Clinton County prosecutor clears Bath Township sergeant in fatal shooting