No Charges in Fatal Shootings of Unarmed Black Suspects in Dearborn

(Updated.) DEARBORN, MI — Two Dearborn police officers who shot unarmed black suspects in separate incidents last winter acted in self defense and won’t be criminally charged, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday. The shootings of Kevin Matthews and Janet Wilson in December 2015 and January 2016, respectively, prompted a Justice Department review of the Dearborn Police Department’s deadly force policies and federal help to improve police-community relations in the city

Worthy said the decision not to charge officers in the two shootings came after multiple interviews with witnesses and experts and the analysis of physical evidence, police training materials and medical records. “These decisions were particularly difficult and heart-wrenching for all parties involved, including me,” Worthy said in a statement.

Matthews, 35, of Detroit, was shot multiple times by a Dearborn officer in a struggle after a foot chase that started in Dearborn and ended in Detroit last December. Wilson was fatally shot outside Fairlane Mall last January after a confrontation with mall security.

“After careful analysis we have concluded that we cannot prove the Matthews case beyond a reasonable doubt because of the laws of self-defense,” Worthy said. “We also cannot prove the Wilson case beyond a reasonable doubt because of the law of self defense, the law of defense of others and the law regarding apprehension of a fleeing felon.”

Matthews was shot after a short foot chase around 12:24 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2015, about 12 hours after he fled police investigating a disturbance at a gas station at Tireman Avenue and Greenfield Road in Dearborn.

Worthy said the officer began chasing Matthews on foot in Dearborn. He identified himself as a police officer and ordered him to stop before the fatal shooting in the 8800 block of Whitcomb Avenue where the shooting took place.

“Interviews with five civilian witnesses, the physical evidence and statements from other police officers that arrived at the scene after the shooting show that Mr. Matthews and the Dearborn police officer engaged in an intense struggle that started in the grass near the fence line,” Worthy said. “The struggle continued around the grass area, along the rear of the house, onto the paved driveway and up against a wood gate and garage door. The struggle ended in the driveway when Mr. Matthews, while standing over the officer, pulled the ammunition magazine from the officer’s duty belt, which was positioned next to his firearm. The officer, still on his back, fired nine shots from his weapon which struck and killed Mr. Matthews.”

A minute-long video from the officer’s scout car did not offer conclusive evidence of the struggle, and only showed briefly showed Matthews and the officer, Worthy said.

“It should be noted that the viewing of the in-car video took four months due to a technical difficulty with the system in reviewing all of the video,” Worthy said. “This required it to be analyzed by experts from the Dearborn Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Secret Service and the West Bloomfield Michigan Police Department.”

“3,000 Pound Weapon”

The encounter with Wilson began about 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 27 in a store in Fairlane Mall that spilled to the mall parking lot. Wilson and a retail employee had been involved in a heated verbal argument, and security was called. In the parking lot, Wilson allegedly continued screaming at Fairlane Mall and JC Penney security officers, as well as other pedestrians. She also allegedly chased a security vehicle on foot, then attempted to ram their vehicles with hers.

Dearborn police were dispatched and two officers in a marked police vehicle activated the emergency lights and the siren and attempted to stop the vehicle. Instead, Worthy said, Wilson didn’t stop, pulled around the police vehicle, ran a stop sign and pulled onto Hubbard Drive, where she stopped in heavy traffic.

Police attempted to block the vehicle, but when the traffic cleared, Wilson drove toward one of the police officers, who drew his firearm and pointed it toward her car, Worthy said. The officer shot through the windshield of the passenger side and one time through the passenger side car window.

“Ms. Wilson continued to drive forward until she slowly lost control,” Worthy said. “The car began to drift until it was stopped by the patrol vehicles. Ms. Wilson’s foot was still on the gas pedal, causing the engine to rev and the tires to smoke.”

Wilson was incapacitated foot was still on the gas, and officers had to break out the passenger window to turn off the engine and remove her from the vehicle. The autopsy showed she had been shot four times.

In both cases, officers acted within the law, Worthy said.

“It is well established that a police officer attempting to make a lawful arrest may use that force which is reasonable under the circumstances in his own self-defense,” she said in the statement, citing legal precedents in a pair of Michigan Supreme Court decision — People v. Dose (1979) and People v. Heflin (1990) —holding that “the killing of another person in self-defense is justifiable homicide if the defendant honestly and reasonably believes that his life is in imminent danger or that there is a threat of serious bodily harm.”

Further, officers can be mistaken as to the degree of danger they are actually in, as long as their belief was reasonable under the circumstances.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing Wilson driving toward the officer, and video footage showed him backing away as he shot, Worthy said.

“It does not make sense that he would move backward and discharge his weapon unless he felt the need to immediately move to a place of safety while Ms. Wilson’s car was moving,” Worthy said. “This is especially true given how close his fellow officers were to the car and how many civilians were in the area. Three of the bullets went through the front windshield on passenger side and one shattered the front passenger side window. ...

“There is substantial evidence to show that Ms. Wilson was the initial aggressor and that her over 3,000 pound vehicle was used as a deadly weapon,” Worthy said, adding that Dearborn officers has reason to believe their lives were in danger after hearing the initial reports from mall security.

Additionally, Worthy said, Wilson had a long history of violence. In 2015, she allegedly attempted to run down a U.S. Postal Service employee after a confrontation with family members that included a threat with a knife.

“Police officers were subjected to assaults and combative incidents when called by the family, including biting, kicking, hitting, and deep scratch wounds,” Worthy said.

Patch file photo