Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has charged a veteran state trooper with murder after he used his unmarked police cruiser to stop a fleeing fugitive during a chase earlier this month.
The car ended up striking Samuel Sterling, a suspect fleeing on foot, who later died in what Michigan State Police Detective Sergeant Brian Keely called an accident.
Police had been searching for Sterling when he was located at a gas station in the city of Kentwood on the morning of April 17.
When officers attempted to arrest him, he fled and was pursued by members of a fugitive task force, WOOD-TV reported.
Keely pursued Sterling, 25, and ultimately struck him with the vehicle.
The aspiring rapper, who was black, died from blunt force trauma injuries shortly after. Keely, 50, faced immediate criticism and even scorn from Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer called on Keely to be fired if charges were filed by her state’s attorney general’s office.
In a news conference on Tuesday in which she announced the charges, Nessel accused Keely, who is white, of behaving in a manner she described as “grossly negligent.”
Today, @MIAttyGen @dananessel filed charges against Michigan State Police Detective Sergeant Brian Keely for the death of Samuel Sterling. Read more ➡️ https://t.co/eDzuGtvYcm pic.twitter.com/tX5YrrAz9Q
— Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (@MIAttyGen) May 28, 2024
“My office has reviewed multiple police reports from other officers on the scene, read the accident reconstruction report and autopsy, as well as watched bodycam footage and surveillance videos from neighboring businesses prior to completing our investigation,” Nessel said.
“We have found that Detective Sgt. Keely’s actions that day were legally grossly negligent and created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm which could have otherwise been prevented,” the state’s AG added.
Body camera video from the attempted arrest shows the moment Keely’s cruiser struck Sterling in front of a Burger King restaurant.
WARNING: The following video includes images that some may find disturbing.
Michigan AG Dana Nessel announced felony charges against a State Police trooper who fatally struck 25-year-old Samuel Sterling while driving an unmarked vehicle near Grand Rapids on April 17
🎥 @unlimited_ls pic.twitter.com/196dJ7aenL
— Michigan News Source (@MINewsSource) May 29, 2024
Keely, who has been with the Michigan State Police since 1998, is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
He faces life in prison if he is convicted of the murder charge, while the manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
An attorney for Keely went on the offensive Tuesday in a statement to WOOD, calling out both Nessel and Whitmer and opining the prosecution of the officer is politically motivated.
“It is unfortunate that in this time of political correctness, Michigan’s attorney general has chosen to ignore the facts of this incident and rely on political pressure,” attorney Marc Curtis told the news station.
Curtis added, “It is also unfortunate that our governor, without having seen or heard all the evidence in the case, chose to interject her opinion and side against law enforcement in this matter.”
Curtis said his client was not only “broken-hearted” over the incident that killed Sterling, but also said the veteran law enforcement officer is a “man of faith.”
The attorney expressed his condolences to those mourning the loss of Sterling.
But he concluded the events leading up to the man’s death were an accident that could have “been avoided if Mr. Sterling would have simply complied with the commands of the Detectives.”
"Mr. Sterling’s action not only put himself in danger but the citizens that were in the area at the time,” the attorney said.
Curtis also stated that although Keely was driving an unmarked car, his lights and sirens were on before he struck Sterling.
He said his client did not intend to harm anyone.
