Detroit police have shot at least 16 people after stops for nonviolent offenses that escalated with foot chases over the past decade, Free Press reporting found, representing 20% of shootings by on-duty officers in that period. Officers involved in the 16 shootings were all cleared of wrongdoing by prosecutors, saying in statements that their safety was threatened.
To learn the circumstances of each case, the Free Press reviewed police reports, court transcripts, internal affairs investigations and public police statements.
Fourteen cases are detailed below. Also shot were Walter Peete and Rayshawn Walden, whose cases are detailed in the paper’s investigation on the issue.
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Man, 22, July 2015, nonfatal shooting
Officers said they noticed the man at a gas station at Woodward and State Fair and suspected he was dealing drugs. The man fled in a car, then on foot. An officer chased and shot him as he ran, saying the 22-year-old had a gun and pointed it at him. The officer’s account was disputed by some witnesses and a district court judge, who,
upon surveillance video, dismissed an associated assault charge against the man. The man pleaded guilty to nonviolent crimes, including gun possession. He went on to sue the city and receive a $75,000 settlement.
Man, 24, November 2015, nonfatal shooting
Special Operations officers said they saw the 24-year-old driving erratically on Detroit’s west side and tried to initiate a traffic stop. The man pulled into a driveway, got out of his vehicle with a gun in hand and took off running, police said. Officers chased him on foot and shot him in the calf, saying the man pointed his gun at them as he fled. The man denied threatening officers. He was convicted of operating while intoxicated and carrying a concealed weapon.
Man, 29, June 2016, nonfatal shooting
Officers with the tactical response unit said they saw the 29-year-old standing in the street with a group in northwest Detroit holding what appeared to be a cup of liquor. When he took off running, police chased him onto a porch where an officer said he drew a gun. A struggle ensued, and the man and an officer were both shot in the hand. The man denied pulling the trigger. He pleaded guilty to assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer causing injury and felony firearm. An assault with a dangerous weapon charge against him was dismissed.
Man, 19, February 2017, fatal shooting
Officers attempted to stop the teen on the city’s west side for alleged speeding. When the teen exited his vehicle and took off running, one officer chased him behind a vacant home, suspecting he had a gun. The officer said Burton lunged for his gun, prompting him to fatally shoot him. There were no known witnesses or body or dash camera footage. In a subsequent civil suit, forensics experts argued the officer’s account of the shooting was inconsistent with the location of the bullet wound and the city spent $875,000 to settle the case. The officer, who shot at least four people during his 24 years on the force, retired in 2018 after he was criminally charged for allegedly showing up to a crime scene drunk with three guns while on restricted duty.
Man, 33, July 2017, nonfatal shooting
Special Operations officers said they noticed the man standing in a street on the city’s west side and illuminated him with a flashlight and saw a gun tucked in his waist area. A foot chase ensued and the man was shot by police in the buttocks and ankle, after an officer said he turned and pointed the gun at them. Two witnesses disputed that account and the man was eventually acquitted by a jury of all charges against him, including having a weapon. The city went on to pay $2 million to settle his subsequent civil suit over the shooting.
Man, 24, August 2018, nonfatal shooting,
Special Operations officers said they were drawn to the 24-year-old because he was standing in the street with a group of people holding red cups. Saying they saw a bulge on the man’s hip, when he ran, the officers gave chase. During the pursuit, the man dropped his gun and it went off, according to his attorney. The officers said they believed they were being shot at and returned fire, hitting the man in the back. The man was not charged with a violent crime and pleaded guilty to only felony firearm.
Man, 22, May 2019, nonfatal shooting
Special Operations officers said they were on “proactive” duty looking for “guns and drugs” when they pulled a man over on Greenfield for driving with his high beams on. Video shows an officer try to pull the man from his vehicle and the vehicle backing up. Prosecutors said an officer was hit. The man fled on foot and officers pursued him. He was shot five times after prosecutors said he shot at police, wounding an officer in the abdomen. The man’s lawyer alleged the officer was hit by friendly fire. A jury acquitted him of gun and assault with intent to murder charges associated with shooting at officers. He was, however, convicted of three counts of assaulting, resisting, obstructing police officers causing injury and sentenced to three years’ probation.
Man, 25, February 2020, nonfatal shooting
Officers in Special Operations uniforms said they pulled over a vehicle for failing to signal a turn. When a 25-year-old man in the passenger seat got out and took off running, officers chased. Police said the man produced a handgun as he ran and shot at them. Officers returned fire, hitting him. No officers were injured. The man pleaded guilty to all 12 counts he was charged with, including assault with intent to murder.
Man, 31, December 2021, nonfatal shooting
Special Operations officers visiting a Project Green Light gas station on the east side said they saw a man standing inside at the lottery machine with a gun in his pocket. An officer approached the man to ask whether he had a concealed pistol license. When the man said no and walked away, the officer pushed him into a refrigerator. The man pushed the officer back and a foot chase ensued through the store. Police said the man took the gun in his hand, and another officer standing near the exit shot the man as he ran toward him. A civil suit later filed by the man against the officers alleges that he was shot “with his back at all times” toward them and “was simply running out of the gas station, threatening nobody.” The man pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing officers. A judge dismissed the civil suit. The man says he plans to appeal.
Man, 22, August 2022, nonfatal shooting
Special Operations officers on patrol in southwest Detroit said they noticed a man standing near a parked vehicle in an otherwise empty church lot. One officer said he recognized the man as a gang member and that he was wearing an ankle tether. Another said that after they approached, he saw a pistol handle in the man’s pocket. When the man took off running, the officer who said he saw the gun chased him into a backyard. The officer said the man pulled the gun from his pocket and turned toward him, causing the officer to fear for his life and fire. He said that immediately after he stopped shooting, the man threw the weapon over a fence. The man was charged with nonviolent crimes and convicted of assaulting/resisting/obstructing and felony firearm.
Man, 20, November 2022, nonfatal shooting
Police said they initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle with a cracked taillight. The driver then ran a red light and the passenger got out and fled on foot. Two officers pursued the passenger, 20. During the chase, the young man fell to the ground, and one of the officers said he saw him reach for a handgun and perceived a threat. That officer also slipped and fell and, in the process, discharged his weapon twice, according to an internal department investigation. It is unclear why the officers decided to chase the man; the internal investigation reports do not indicate they suspected a gun before the chase began and department policy bars chases for flight alone. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
Boy, 16, April 2024, nonfatal shooting
Officers driving in the city’s Brightmoor neighborhood one evening saw a teen walking down the sidewalk with a companion and, according to a police report, “made observations indicating” he may have been carrying a concealed pistol. They stopped him and he lifted his jacket, revealing what they believed to be the outline of a gun in his pocket, as per a department incident briefing posted to YouTube. The teen then fled on foot and officers chased, body camera video shows. Police said the boy took the gun in his hand as he ran and that the weapon was “swinging backwards” in the officer’s direction, when the officer shot the teen, hitting him in the leg. The teen was not charged with violent crimes and pleaded guilty only to carrying a concealed weapon.
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Man, 21, May 2024, nonfatal shooting
Officers drove by two people who appeared to be minors walking in the area of Seven Mile and Ferguson at 11:07 p.m. and attempted to stop them for being out seven minutes past the city’s youth curfew, according to a department incident briefing posted to YouTube. Police said they saw one with a gun. When officers cracked open their door, that person took off running, police said. Two officers gave chase. An officer ordered the man to drop the weapon and then fired at him, police said. The man reported a graze wound to the head. A handgun was found along the foot pursuit route. The person shot was not charged with violent crimes and pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon.
Boy, 16, January 2025, nonfatal shooting
Special Operations officers driving by four apparent minors near Seven Mile and Forrer around 11 p.m. stopped the group to investigate a potential curfew violation and saw one boy “pulling up his pants,” according to a department incident briefing posted to YouTube. The boy took off running. An officer chased, firing at him twice. The teen said he was hit in the arm and leg and a gun was found near where he was shot, body camera video posted by the department shows. The teen was charged only with carrying a concealed weapon. In the video footage, the shooting officer says the teen pulled out his gun and that he worried the teen could turn and fire on him.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 16 Detroit police shootings started with nonviolent stops, foot chases