KENTWOOD, Mich — The Michigan State Police (MSP) sergeant who is charged with murder in the death of a man he hit with his vehicle while running from police is speaking out through his attorney.
MSP Sgt. Brian Keely is charged with murder second degree or alternatively, involuntary manslaughter in relation to the death of Samuel Sterling.
The charges stem from a police chase that ended with Keely hitting and severely injuring Samuel Sterling. Sterling would die from his injuries later that day.
Keely was charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel Tuesday afternoon and shortly after the charges were announced, Keely's attorney, Marc Curtis, shared a statement:
It is unfortunate that in this time of political correctness, Michigan’s Attorney General has chosen to ignore the facts of this incident and rely on political pressure. It is also unfortunate that our Governor, without having seen or heard all the evidence in the case, chose to interject her opinion and side against law enforcement in this matter.
Detective/Sergeant Keely is a highly trained and decorated Trooper, a 25 year veteran of the Michigan State Police. He was assigned to the Emergency Support Team for 10 years where he was given an award for Bravery and Life Saving actions when he was shot in the chest while rescuing a hostage from being killed. D/Sgt. Keely has been assigned to the U.S. Marshall’s Task Force for several years, making hundreds of arrests without incident. D/Sgt. Keely has over 12 years experience of safely operating police vehicles without a single at fault accident in the performance of his duties. In this pursuit, he operated a vehicle that was unmarked, but equipped with emergency flashing lights and a siren that were activated and is commonly used by law enforcement around the state and country in the apprehension of wanted fugitives.
The loss of Mr. Sterling’s life is tragic and can never be replaced. D/Sgt. Keely is a man of faith and feels broken-hearted for the Sterling and Cage families.
However, this was an accident that could have been avoided had Mr. Sterling simply turned himself in prior to the U.S. Marshall’s Task Force being assigned to apprehend him. This accident could have also been avoided if Mr. Sterling would have simply complied with the commands of the Detectives. Mr. Sterling’s action not only put himself in danger but the citizens that were in the area at the time.
We look forward to bringing all the evidence and facts out before the court in defense of D/Sgt. Keely.
The Department of the Attorney General said this during the announcement of the charges:
“Detective Sergeant Keely’s actions that day were legally, grossly negligent and created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm, which could have otherwise been prevented.”
After an initial investigation into Sterling's death, it was ruled accidental, but Nessel still opted to bring charges on the trooper.
“Public integrity is a top priority for my Department and we remain committed to providing a thorough and just review and resolution in each case brought before us,” said Nessel.
Sterling's family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Crump shared this statement Wednesday:
“We are grateful that the officer responsible for Samuel’s death will answer for his actions that robbed Samuel of his life. There is absolutely no excuse for running over another human being with a vehicle – we are grateful that state leadership in Michigan agrees. In the video, we can see this officer clearly create a dangerous situation and pursue Samuel using tactics that Michigan Governor Whitmer has stated were a departure from MSP protocol.“These charges should serve as a stark warning to law enforcement that their actions have consequences, especially when those actions, which we see all too often, take another life. With each ounce of justice, we move closer to equitable policing and a world with fewer tragedies like the one that ended Samuel’s life.”
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