June 21--A man who was shot and killed after police said he tried to run down officers in the Woodhaven Walmart parking lot Tuesday was suspected of stealing about $100 worth of food and T-shirts, police said Wednesday.
They have not released the 39-year-old Lincoln Park man's name or said how many times he was shot.
The shooting occurred shortly after Walmart employees reported the man and a 25-year-old woman were stealing items about 7:45 p.m.
"It was T-shirts, a bunch of food -- nothing of any great value, that's for sure," Woodhaven Police Detective Sgt. Gary McSweeney said. "They were just randomly stuffing things into the bag."
McSweeney said they were in a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass that was stolen from the parking lot of a Lincoln Park Meijer store Sunday.
The man confronted two officers with a screwdriver and then tried to run them over as he attempted to drive off, police said.
Woodhaven police are handling the shoplifting investigation; Michigan State Police is investigating the shooting, Metro Detroit Post Detective Sgt. David Robertson said.
"There was a large number of eyewitnesses to the incident that have corroborated statements by police and security personnel," Robertson said. "The information at this point is the suspect backed into one patrol car and tried to run over another officer and that's when weapons were discharged."
The man was killed at the scene. Robertson did not know how many times he was shot or where he was wounded.
Woodhaven police arrested the woman a short time later, and she is being held pending a review by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. McSweeney said she was arrested a couple of weeks ago in an unrelated shoplifting case. Her name has not been released.
Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Maria Miller said the office is still waiting for information from police.
Robertson said State Police investigators are waiting for autopsy and toxicology results to determine whether the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
"Right now, we're still collecting all the evidence from the medical examiner (and) our State Police crime lab is in the process of processing the patrol car that was struck and the suspect vehicle," Robertson said.
Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press
