Injured suspect continued to flee; officers contained the area in boats
Kalamazoo Gazette
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Farm fields and the St. Joseph River were the scene of a chase Saturday that ended with police shooting a 19-year-old man.
The man, whose name was not released, was in stable condition late Saturday at Borgess Medical Center, St. Joseph County Undersheriff Dennis Allen said.
Residents of Constantine Road in Florence Township called police about 11 a.m. to report a man trying to trade an all-terrain vehicle for guns. It was later determined he ATV was stolen.
A sheriff’s deputy who responded saw the man take off on the ATV, Allen said. “The deputy went to an area where he thought the subject would come out, and as he was coming out he lost control of the ATV and it flipped,” the undersheriff said.
The man, who lives in both Three Rivers and Michigan City, Ind., ignored commands to stop and pulled a gun from his waistband, but neither he nor the deputy fired, Allen said.
The suspect ran through a wooded area, at one point shooting at officers who gave chase, Allen said. Sheriff’s deputies were joined by Sturgis, Three Rivers, White Pigeon and Michigan State Police officers, but it was not immediately known who fired the shot that hit the man, Allen said.
After he was shot, the man continued through woods and into the St. Joseph River, where he was surrounded by officers in boats and arrested shortly before 3 p.m. near Withers Road, the undersheriff said. “He was still fighting when we were trying to arrest him,” Allen said. “He actually had a knife in his hand.”
The sheriff’s department planned to seek multiple charges against the man from prosecutors, Allen said.
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