[Xploit Machine]

A 17-year-old suffered fatal head injuries when a Kent County sheriff's deputy struck him with a cruiser after a police pursuit in Wyoming, Michigan, on April 8, 2024. The teenager died on May 9.

The pursuit began in Holland and ended after a stolen Range Rover crashed. Two 17-year-olds ran from the SUV. Dashcam footage shows the deputy turning his cruiser across one teenager's path in a business parking lot. The teenager's leg caught under a tire, pulling him down and causing his head to strike the pavement.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker declined to charge the deputy on May 28, calling the collision an accident and finding no gross negligence. Becker said the teenager was holding a phone, not a gun; the deputy had believed he might be armed. The teenager's family subsequently filed a federal lawsuit.

[Hogmann]

I bet he won't be running from the cops again. Probably won't be running ever again.

[kellyhound]

KENT COUNTY, MI – Prosecutor Chris Becker said the family of Riley Doggett, 17, who was struck by a sheriff’s patrol car and killed, did not agree with his finding that the deputy will not face criminal charges.

Becker shared police video with Doggett’s family at state police Sixth District headquarters in Walker.

“They’re not happy with the decision, quite clearly,” Becker said Tuesday, May 28, in a press conference at his office.

“They clearly thought the deputy should be charged. I wasn’t expecting them to agree.”

The video was difficult to watch, with the teen’s left leg getting caught by the right tire, pulling Doggett to the pavement, where he struck his head.

Becker said sheriff’s Deputy Josiah McMains did not bear criminal responsibility.

McMains had picked up a police pursuit that began in Holland and he believed that Doggett was armed when he left the stolen vehicle and fled on foot.

“Given that there were still a number of people outside at this time of day, along with Deputy McMains’ belief that (the) person may be armed, he made the decision to try and stop the person from running by turning his cruiser in front of him to block his path,” Becker said in a written opinion.

“He indicated, ‘My intention in doing this was to slow his spring and place myself and my cruiser in front of his path.’”

The deputy, who provided investigators with a written statement, attempted to turn as he passed the teen who was struck by the side of the patrol car and thrown to the ground.

The deputy was going 22 mph, in-car video showed. Ven Johnson, an attorney representing Doggett’s family, said he disagreed with Becker’s decision and thought charges were warranted.

“When you see the car make a quick jerk to the right, you know you’re going to come into contact with that person. You know if you’re in a 3,000-4,000 pound police car, that you’re going to injure and potentially kill that person,” he said.

Johnson plans to ask state Attorney General Dana Nessel to review Becker’s decision.

Becky Wilbert, Doggett’s mother, said she watched the dashcam video with Becker earlier Monday. She was disturbed by what she saw.

“It was very hard to watch. That’s my son,” she said. “There is no need for any vehicle to hit a person. And to think that a body has a chance against a vehicle, that’s crazy to me.”

Becker said he considered multiple charges against the deputy before he was cleared. He and his staff had reviewed evidence for some time and he met with Dr. Stephen Cohle, a forensic pathologist, on Friday to review video.

The incident began around 6:30 p.m. on April 8. Holland police had been looking for a stolen Land Rover that was involved in multiple cars thefts in the city and surrounding area.

Holland police saw the Land Rover in the parking lot of a gym. The Land Rover left with a car that was believed to have just been stolen from the gym. Police tried to stop both vehicles but both fled, leading Holland police and Ottawa County sheriff’s deputies on a lengthy pursuit.

Holland police ended their pursuit on I-196 just before Rivertown Parkway in Grandville. At 6:57 p.m., McMains, the Kent County sheriff’s deputy, left southbound U.S. 131 at 44th Street.

He was aware that a white Land Rover was involved in multiple incidents in Kent County and that Holland police had pursued the vehicle. He monitored Holland police radio traffic and knew the pursuit ended in Grandville. A license-plate reader then showed the Land Rover was traveling east on 44th SW near Coral Avenue.

He saw the vehicle on the U.S. 131 overpass. He attempted to box the vehicle in but the driver accelerated, and went between two vehicles stopped for a red light.

McMains, along with Wyoming police, pursued the vehicle, at speeds exceeding 80 mph, for about 4 ½ minutes. The fleeing vehicle went the wrong way on some roads, ran stoplights and almost hit other vehicles, Becker’s opinion said.

As the Land Rover turned north onto South Division Avenue from 32nd Street, two occupants of the Rover jumped out as it was moving. It then struck parked cars.

The driver ran to the left between a row of cars in the parking lot. Doggett ran to the right. He had a black object in his right hand which turned out to be a cellphone.

Police had information that those associated with the stolen Land Rover had stolen guns and had been in the area of gunshots being fired.

The deputy tried to pull ahead of Doggett when the teen’s leg got pulled under the wheel.

Becker said that the driver of the Land Rover has been charged as a juvenile with first-degree fleeing and eluding causing death, a 15-year felony, and conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony.

Prosecutors are seeking a judge’s approval to try the teen as an adult.

Becker said that there was not evidence to charge the deputy with involuntary manslaughter or reckless driving causing death. McMains was not “grossly negligent” in his pursuit.

“(McMains) did not run him over; Riley was clearly struck by the side of the car, and from the evidence it appears the front right tire of the car caught him in the calf, pulling off his shoe, and then he violently fell to the ground. The Deputy was passing him, and by the Deputy’s own statement he wished to cut in front of him to slow him down enough to possibly have the ability to engage in a foot chase.

“There is nothing in these facts that indicate he was engaging in behavior the likely result of which was to prove disastrous to another, which is necessary to establish gross negligent,” Becker wrote.

He said McMains stayed calm throughout the pursuit, sought permission to continue and did not put other motorists in danger. He said McMains thought Doggett had a gun and wanted to block his path to a nearby neighborhood.

“Although he ultimately struck Riley with his cruiser in doing so, as Riley continued running away, at that speed and considering the totality of the circumstances with the started of recklessness, I cannot prove behind a reasonable doubt that the conduct of the deputy was the kind that would result in a ‘plain and strong likelihood that death or great bodily harm would result,’” Becker wrote.

[kellyhound]

Longer video.

[rohmell]

I personally think that this robbery ended good.

[azblue81]

I laughed out loud when that guy got hit. Yes! Splatter his ass!