Here Are the 13 People Killed by Michigan Police So Far in 2016: Updated

Updated Oct. 3, 2016. MICHIGAN — For all you’ve read about police killings of unarmed black men, the numbers in Michigan don’t support predispositions about officer-involved shootings, according to an ongoing project that depends on verfield crowdsourcing and media reports.

Police officers in Michigan have shot and killed 13 Michiganders so far in 2016, according to a project called “The Counted” by The Guardian. The 13 Michiganders were among 718 people killed nationwide in police conflicts.

Of those who died in 2016 encounters with police, eight were white, four were black and one was Hispanic/Latino. The victims included two women, one white and the other black.

The Guardian says its project is the most thorough public accounting for deadly use of force in the United States, but is an imperfect work in progress – and will be updated by Guardian reporters and interactive journalists as frequently and as promptly as possible.

According to the Guardian report, the U.S. government has no comprehensive record of the number of people killed by law enforcement. Before stepping down as U.S. attorney general in April 2015, Eric Holder described the prevailing situation on data collection as “unacceptable.”

Only one of those killed in Michigan — Hope Elferndink, a 38-year-old white woman — was unarmed. She was shot and killed by her husband, Mark Elferdink, an off-duty deputy with the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office. He used a personal handgun to shoot her before killing himself, police said.

Here is information about the other 10 fatal police-civilian conflicts in Michigan in 2016 from The Guardian report.

Rakeem Bentley, 24, a black male shot in Southfield on Jan. 15 by Michigan State Police and the FBI: A multi-agency task force led by the FBI shot an killed Bentley during a human trafficking sting. Bentley reportedly got ahold of an officer’s gun during a struggle and shot the officer in the stomach before another officer shot and killed Bentley, according to a state investigation.

Janet Wilson, 31, of Detroit, a black female shot in Dearborn on Jan. 17 by the Dearborn Police Department: After Wilson reportedly caused a disturbance in a Fairlane Town Center Mall parking lot, police shot her after a brief chase in which she nearly hit an officer with her car, police said. Her family has said she suffered mental health conditions.

William Jennings, 49, a white male struck died in Birch Run on March 12 in a collision with a Michigan State Police vehicle: Police used a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver to stop Jennings, who was armed with a gun and suicidal, according to a call his wife made to police. Officers located him and began a pursuit, during which Jennings reportedly brandished his firerm.

Lamont Gulley, 43, a black male, was shot in Kentwood on April 8 by the Kentwood Police Department: Police said Gulley allegedly stabbed and killed his girlfriend, fled and encountered police nearby, where he allegedly made threatening movements toward officers while still armed with a knife.

Clifford Tucker, 68, a white male shot in Ishpemig on June 9 by the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office: Police said Tucker threatened suicide in a call to a local hospital, and authorities there alerted the sheriff’s office. A deputy responded and shot Tucker after he raised his shotgun toward the deputy and refused to lower it, authorities said.

Antonio Richardson, 46, a black male killed by a Taser weapon in Flint on June 22 by the Flint Police Department and Michigan State Police: Armed with a knife, Richardson had allegedly stabbed two other adults and refused to drop his weapon, prompting authorities to use a Taser weapons. He experienced a medical condition after the Taser was deployed, the police department said, and died at a hospital.

Terry Maurer, 51, a white male, was shot on June 26 in Clarklake by the Columbia Township Police Department: Police said Maurer moved toward officers with a baseball bat during a domestic violence investigation. One of the officers shot and killed Maurer, a homeless man who had been living in the residence’s garage, after he threatened them with the bat and refused commands to drop it, according to authorities.

Pablo Medina, 41, a Hispanic/Latino male shot in Romulus on July 11 by the Romulus Police Department: Medina, a suspect in the murder of his wife and her friend, was shot in a standoff with police inside a hotel, authorities said. He exited a closet with a gun pointed at officers and was shot.

Larry Gordon, 44, h, a white male shot was in St. Joseph on July 11 after he attempted to escape from custody after attending a pretrial hearing on multiple felony charges: He managed to take a gun from a deputy who was escorting him and shot and injured the deputy and fatally shot two bailiffs and a civilian, according to authorities. He was shot by officers as he attempted to take hostages.

Bradley Carey, 54, a white male shot Aug. 3 by the West Bloomfield Police Department and the Michigan Department of Corrections: Officers with a multi-jurisdictional task force forced entry into a motel room occupied by Carey, a suspect in a Farmington Hills bank robbery, and fatally shot him when he reportedly lunged at them with a knife. He was also wanted for parole violation.

Sadiq Idris, 25, a black male, was shot Sept. 7 by Wyoming police after he allegedly stole a handgun from a gun store and fled on his bicycle: He allegedly pointed the gun at police when they caught up with him and was shot and killed.

Richard Parent, 34, a white male, was shot Sept. 30 by Michigan State Police after he claimed claimed sovereign citizen status and refused to show his identification after being stopped for not wearing his seatbelt: A trooper then broke a window in Parent's car to arrest him and Parent sped off, leading authorities on a chase, police said. Parent was fatally shot after troopers forced his car to stop and he got out with a gun and allegedly pointed it at police.

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