Suspect struck, killed in MSP fugitive arrest attempt

A Michigan State Police officer involved in a fugitive arrest operation in Kentwood on Wednesday struck and killed the suspect with his vehicle after the man fled on foot, the agency's director said Thursday.

Police said Samuel Sterling "later succumbed to his injuries" at a local hospital after an officer from the MSP Sixth District Fugitive Team driving an unmarked vehicle struck Sterling, who was on foot, Col. James F. Grady II said in a statement. Sterling was wanted on multiple warrants, said Grady, who did not provide details about why Sterling was wanted.

Sterling was 25, according to a Wood-TV 8 report.

"As an African American male and a father, it’s not lost on me that this is the death of another young African American male following an interaction with police," Grady said. "As the director of the Michigan State Police, I want to assure the community that we see you, hear you and will thoroughly and expeditiously investigate the incident."

Sterling was spotted at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday putting air in a vehicle's tires at a gas station near 52nd Street and Eastern Avenue in Kentwood, about 7 1/2 miles south of Grand Rapids. Police said he fled as officers approached him.

Several officers pursued him on foot while the MSP officer in the unmarked vehicle pursued him, according to the preliminary investigation.

The officer, whose name was not released, and Sterling merged in the parking lot of Burger King on Eastern Avenue, where the vehicle driven by the MSP member struck Sterling, Grady said.

"What we know at this time is limited and still subject to change," Grady said. "There is much investigative work yet to be done and I ask that we let the investigation proceed before drawing any conclusions."

A neighboring MSP district is conducting a "thorough and objective" investigation, he said. "Our role is to be finders of fact and to compile those facts in an objective manner."

The officer driving the vehicle has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

The MSP Sixth District Fugitive Team was joined by the Michigan Department of Corrections, U.S. Marshals, and Kentwood, Wyoming and Grand Rapids police in the operation.

In March, MSP announced it amended its policy on high-speed car chases in an effort to reduce risks in the pursuits. The policy, which took immediate effect, restricted troopers to engaging in a pursuit only if there is probable cause to believe the driver or occupants in a vehicle have committed a life-threatening or violent felony, the agency said.

On average nationally, crashes occur in at least 30% of vehicle chases, and injuries or fatalities occur in 5% to 17% of pursuits, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

jaimery@detroitnews.com