GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan State Police said they arrested a person of interest from a weekend shootout with Grand Rapids Police Officers.
The person was taken into custody Tuesday on a warrant unrelated to the case.
The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) recently released body camera video from those pursuing officers.
A traffic stop from March 2 quickly turned into a police chase when a suspect ran from the backseat of the car they were attempting to pull over. It happened just before 11:45 p.m. on S. Division Avenue, GRPD Chief Eric Winstrom said.
Two officers were in the police cruiser when they made the stop. After the suspect ran away, the body cam footage shows the two officers began chasing him eastbound into an alley.
Winstrom said that even though the suspect was not the driver of the car, he had no right to leave the scene after the vehicle had been pulled over.
Other assisting officers on scene remained with the vehicle and its two remaining occupants.
The footage showed three different angles—the dash cam of the police car and body cameras of both responding officers. You could see the suspect running through a parking lot and then jumping over a fence into a nearby home's backyard. That was where both officers noticed the suspect had a gun, and yelled at him to drop it.
They said the suspect ran between two houses on Horton Avenue and presented the semi-automatic handgun, firing multiple rounds at the officers. GRPD said both officers returned fire. The officers were not struck by any bullets.
GRPD also shared still shots of the suspect where you can see the gun in his hand.
"If you'll notice, the officer behind was calling out a much more description," said Winstrom. "She was the first one that noticed the guns, she was giving clear directions. And then when that shooting happened, they stopped and they stopped because now they know the individual is attempting to murder them. The instinct is, as a police officer, it's hard to be in a situation like that and not run towards that to end that situation right there. But those two officers, they followed their training, they stopped there."
The suspect continued to flee and was not found for days. On Monday, Winstrom said the last time he was seen on the body cam footage was also the last time the suspect was seen by police.
Winstrom said the other two occupants of the vehicle have not been charged with any crimes associated with the incident.
"These two officers came just within inches of losing their life from an individual running from a traffic stop with a firearm. So I want to praise the men and women of the Grand Rapids Police Department for the work that they're doing," Winstrom said.
The Michigan State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting. As per procedure, the two involved officers are on administrative leave. Winstrom could not share much about the investigation, but said the officers are not suspected of any crimes related to the incident.
Winstrom said this is the sixth officer-involved shooting in the last two years in Grand Rapids. The two officers who pursued the suspect have more than five years with the department and are part of the special response team.
His department has not yet seen a homicide this year, Winstrom said. He mentioned that in 2023, the city saw an increase in violence, so the department increased police presence on the streets.
"Part of that is our proactive, high visibility patrol in the areas that we did see gun violence [last year]," said Winstrom.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Grand Rapids Police Department or Silent Observer. Detectives can be reached at (616) 456-3380 or tips can be sent anonymously through Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345/ www.silentobserver.org.
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