Video: Mich. Police Take Down Knife-Wielding Motorist who Rammed Cruiser at Station

Authorities have ruled Roseville police were justified in shooting a motorist who appears to have deliberately rammed the back of a police cruiser and then pulled a knife on them, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

The Oct. 13 shooting on the side of the Roseville Police Department left the 36-year-old suspect hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said his office conducted an independent review of the incident and found the two Roseville officers conformed with state law and departmental policy concerning the use of deadly force as the motorist was armed with a knife.

“We cleared them,” Wickersham said. “In reviewing footage from the building camera, body cameras, and in-car cameras, we determined the use of deadly forced was justified against this individual in this situation.”

Video footage release by the sheriff’s office shows an officer was in a patrol vehicle about 4:40 a.m. responding to a call when the suspect hit the back of his car at a high rate of speed.

As officers surround the suspect’s vehicle, the driver got out of his car armed with a knife, according to video footage and police.

Wickersham said the suspect, who didn’t say anything to the officers, approached them with a knife in his hand and ignored several commands to drop the weapon. Seven shots were fired by two officer, striking the suspect six times, the sheriff said.

A third officer at the scene deployed a Taser.

“This individual was in close proximity to the officers and there’s not much they could could do at that point,” Wickersham said. “You can’t wait for a taser in that situation as he escalated things by refusing to drop the knife.”

Because of his condition, investigators haven’t been able to talk to the suspect in an effort to learn his motive. According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect’s family said he did have some mental health concerns, but had no criminal history.

“We might never know,” Wickersham said.

The Roseville resident remains hospitalized in critical condition.

But an attorney for the man said there are still unanswered questions about the shooting.

“As my client continues to fight for his life, it remains an open question whether or not he had the requisite mental state at the time of the incident to be held criminally responsible in this matter, or whether or not he will even be deemed competent to stand trial,” attorney Bill Barnwell said in a statement.

The suspect’s mental competency will be determined in the course of future legal proceedings, Barnwell added.

The footage shows the suspect, who was driving his father’s silver Pontiac G5, slowly driving through a parking lot outside the police station, then backing up. He slowly drives forward behind a parked police cruiser and nudges the rear bumper before backing up again.

“He appears to be waiting for the officers to leave as if he was stalking them,” Wickersham said. When they come out and get in their vehicles, you can see him driving at a high rate of speed, smashing into the rear of one of the patrol cars.”

The suspect was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and malicious destruction of police property, but he has not been arraigned.

It is unclear if he will survive, officials said Thursday.

The officers involved in the incident have been temporarily placed on paid administrative leave.

Roseville Police Chief Mitch Berlin could not be immediately reached Thursday to comment. But he told Fox2 Detroit (Channel 2) he expects they will return to work on Friday.

Wickersham said the incident underscores the risks law enforcement officers face every day on the job.

“This shows that every day, the men and women of law enforcement never know what they will be confronted with,” he said. “You would think a police station would be their safe domain, but you never know.”

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