The family of a black man who died after being hit by an unmarked police car in Michigan cried out Saturday after investigators revealed body camera footage of the incident.
Michigan State Police said it turned over its investigative report and all evidence of Samuel Sterling’s death on April 17 to the state attorney general’s office. Kentwood cops were following Sterling on outstanding warrants.
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Sterling, 25, allegedly fled when cops approached him at a petrol station and was struck by an unmarked Michigan State Police car after officers concentrated on him in the parking lot of a nearby Burger King, according to police. He died later that day at the hospital.
Body camera footage released on Friday showed officers running to Sterling on the ground after he was hit, moaning in pain, and saying he did not have a gun. One can spot the unmarked police truck on a curb near the eatery in front of Sterling.
Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents Sterling’s family, told ABC News that they were “stunned and appalled to see the MSP trooper deliberately drive over a curb—onto a sidewalk—and violently take Samuel’s life by striking him with an unmarked police car.”
“No one person should be able to appoint themselves as judge, jury, and executioner, yet deaths from police brutality and excessive force continue to occur too often,” Johnson said.
Officers are seen handcuffing Sterling and instructing firefighters who rushed to the site to keep the cuffs on.
The footage released Friday came from three agencies involved in the fugitive task force: Michigan State Police, Grand Rapids Police Department, and Wyoming Police Department. It included footage from four sources, three officers’ body cameras, and one dash camera from a police vehicle, according to the Michigan State Police.
“I assure the Sterling and Cage families and the communities we serve that we will continue to be transparent in this investigation and will fully cooperate with the Michigan Department of Attorney General as they begin their review,” MSP director Col. James F. Grady II, who met with the family on Friday, said in a statement.
The state trooper driving the car that struck Sterling was not wearing a body camera, and his vehicle lacked a dash camera “due to his assignment on a federal task force,” Michigan State Police stated in a statement.
The state police initiated an investigation into the event and suspended the trooper, whose identity has not been published due to the investigation, without pay.
Marc E. Curtis, the trooper’s attorney, told ABC News in a statement that his client is working on the inquiry.
“We want to emphasize to Mr. Sterling’s family and community that we understand your grief over his death.” In a statement, Curtis expressed his heartbreak over Mr. Sterling’s death and assured the family that he had no intention of purposely harming Mr. Sterling.
In order to decide whether any charges are appropriate, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will review the police report and the available evidence.
“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,” Nessel stated in a statement issued last month.
In a statement on Friday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called Sterling’s death “unacceptable” and urged the removal of the officer in the event of charges.
The governor quoted Nessel as saying, “I have full faith that her office will work quickly to arrive at a fair and just decision as to whether criminal charges are appropriate.”
