ALGOMA TOWNSHIP (AP) — The fatal shooting of a 30-year-old man during a struggle with a sheriff's deputy in western Michigan has been ruled justified.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says in a report released Tuesday that Deputy Jason Wiersma shot Jonathan Sper to protect Sper's adult brother.
Wiersma and a second deputy were called Jan. 24 to the Algoma Township home after the brother refused to allow Sper into the house.
The deputies said they fought with Sper in a garage.
Becker wrote that Wiersma mistakenly believed Sper had a sharp object and ordered him to drop it. He said Wiersma was concerned Sper would attack his brother inside the house.
Becker also wrote that Sper suffered from a mental illness and had been drinking.
- Posted March 29, 2017
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Prosecutor rules man's fatal shooting by deputy justified
headlines Macomb
- Former public defender moves on to private sector
- Governor signs legislation reforming Michigan’s juvenile justice system
- Michigan voters start casting cast ballot in person at early voting sites
- Chinese National pleads guilty in $80,000 fraud scheme targeting Macomb senior
- Macomb County board of commissioners adopts resolution authorizing intervention in DTE Electric Co. rate increases
headlines National
- How to use AI but steer clear of hallucinated cases
- Lawyers for low-income clients strike in NYC
- Top prosecutor for International Criminal Court accused of sexual misconduct
- Big Tech companies facing new wave of lawsuits over copyright and AI
- Lawyer says he was ‘manic’ when he bought Cape Cod mansion in danger of falling into ocean
- Judge regrets ‘entitled little snot’ comment but still fit for the bench, lawyer says
