SUGAR ISLAND, MI—A Chippewa County man faces multiple charges after he allegedly attacked a Michigan State Police patrol vehicle with a hammer while aboard the Sugar Island Ferry and assaulted the trooper during his arrest.

The incident occurred Monday, Sept. 7, around 1:30 p.m. as a trooper from the MSP Sault Ste. Marie Post was returning to the mainland after responding to an emergency 911 call on Sugar Island. The suspect’s vehicle, which had been the subject of a prior driving complaint on the island, boarded the ferry behind the trooper’s patrol vehicle.

While the ferry was underway, the man exited his vehicle and began striking the patrol vehicle with a hammer. The trooper left his vehicle and took the suspect into custody, but the man resisted arrest and assaulted the officer during the incident.

The suspect displayed signs of being under the influence during the altercation. Following an investigation, he was charged with operating under the influence of drugs, resisting and obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and malicious destruction of property involving a police vehicle.

The man was taken to Chippewa County Jail. His name is being withheld pending arraignment.

The trooper had initially been unable to investigate the driving complaint because he was responding to the emergency call when he received the information about the suspect’s vehicle.

The investigation remains ongoing. MSP was assisted by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Department, Sault Tribe Police Department, Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol.

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