Driver High on Crack When He Fatally Struck Detroit Cop: Prosecutor

DETROIT, MI — A Lincoln Park man was allegedly high on crack cocaine Friday when he struck and killed Detroit Police Officer Myron Jarrett, 40, about 10:30 p.m. Friday, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Molly Kettler said Monday. Jarrett died Saturday of the injuries he sustained when he was hit while investigating an accident near Monica Street and Puritan Avenue.

Steven Guzina, 54, was arraigned Monday afternoon in 36th District Court on five felonies, including second-degree murder and operating while intoxicated causing death. He is also charged with OWI causing serious bodily injury, failure to stop at the scene of an accident when at fault resulting in death, reckless driving causing death, and reckless driving causing serious impairment of a body function.

Police said Guzina was driving at a high rate of speed and attempted to pass the accident investigation when he struck and killed Jarrett, who was thrown 30 feet in the air.

After the crash, Guzina fled the scene on foot, police said, but was arrested a short time later at a nearby bus stop.

Kettler said during the Guzina’s arraignment that he had stopped multiple times in his van to buy and smoke crack prior to the fatal crash. A 43-year-old female passenger from Detroit reportedly implored him to slow down before he hit the officer, as well as two vehicles, a patrol car and a civilian vehicle, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Bond was denied by 36th District Court Magistrate Bari Blake Wood after Keller argued that Guzina has family members who likely have the financial means to bail him out and that he is a flight risk. Guzina previously had been convicted of operating while intoxicated.

Deputy Police Chief David LeValley told the Free Press after the arraignment that police are relieved that Guzina will remain behind bars. He called Jarrett a “great officer, great family man, great community member.”

“It's very tragic that something like this occurred,” LeValley said. “And our department is working hard to try to recover as best we can at this point.”

Gunzia was arraigned by video from the Wayne County Jail, and Wood entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. He is next due in court at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 18.

In a statement announcing the charges earlier Monday, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’ said Jarrett’s death is “yet another very tragic result of a person allegedly driving under the influence of intoxicants taking ‎a life.”

“There have been public service announcements and activism about this for decades,” Worthy said. “There are probably people driving under the influence at this very moment. Who knows when this will stop?”

Professional, Positive, Good-Humored

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Saturday that Jarrett was “always positive,” “a professional cop,” and a law enforcement officer who commanded universal respect and dished out friendly advice when he wrote tickets.

“His fellow officers all said he was a nice man, a professional police officer who really served his community with distinction,” Craig said in a news conference Saturday, The Detroit News reported. “One of the things he liked to do was write tickets because he would talk to people, he would counsel them.”

“That’s the kind of police officer he was,” Craig said at the news conference, which was held in the lobby of the 12th Precinct, where Jarrett worked. “He was respected not only by the people he worked with, but also the people he served. He certainly will be missed.”

He was even-tempered and accepted it with good humor when other officers began referring to him as “Salt and Pepper” when his hair began to gray or when they teased him about his “man purse,” his trusty ticket book.

Tributes to the fallen officer and condolences to his family and colleagues poured in on Craig’s public Facebook page.

Second Line-of-Duty Death

Jarrett was the second Detroit police officer to die recently in the line of duty. Kenneth Steil, who was posthumously promoted to captain at his funeral last month, died unexpectedly of a blood clot on Sept. 17 after he had been shot in the shoulder five days earlier by a fleeing suspect. He had been expected to recover.

“There’s been way too much sadness in the city lately,’’ Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said at the news conference, the Detroit Free Press reported. “It’s just a reminder of the number of different ways that our police officers are in danger every day.”

Photo of Steven Guzina, 54, via Detroit Police Department