GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man with what seemed to be a gun was shot and killed by officers outside of Trinity Health in Grand Rapids Friday night, police say.
Around 10:45 p.m., dispatch received multiple 911 calls about a person with a gun near Trinity Health in the area of Maple Street SE and Jefferson Avenue SE. The first call came from an ambulance that was leaving the hospital, according to Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom. As officers began to respond, another 911 call came in, Winstrom said at a Saturday news conference.
“We’re sitting out here smoking,” the caller said in audio released by GRPD. “And three guys came up on scooters and they’re screaming, saying that some guy had a gun and he’s, like, brandishing it in the middle of the road.”
Officers responded to the area. They found the man and told him multiple times to drop the gun, footage released by GRPD shows.
“He’s pointing the gun at me,” one officer said over the radio, according to the video.
Then, there were several shots.
Three officers — out of about 10 who were on scene, Winstrom said — fired at the man, according to GRPD.
The man was taken to the hospital, where he died. His name has not been released, though Winstrom described him as a 38-year-old man.
Per standard procedure, Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting and the officers involved were put on administrative leave.
At Saturday’s news conference, Winstrom addressed a video circulating on social media that showed a K-9 responding. He explained that the dogs are trained to rescue, particularly by grabbing clothes with their teeth and dragging the person away.
“In this case, this individual collapsed with a clenched fist around the gun-shaped object that he had in his hand, which is what the officers could see. Because of that, they sent (the K-9) in to grab him by the clothing,” he said. “They dragged him away, at which time he released the grip and officers were able to safely approach and render aid.”
Winstrom said what the man was holding looked like a gun from a distance, but when he got closer, it appeared to be “a gun-shaped object.” The police chief couldn’t say for sure what it was.
“What I saw, it did not appear to be a functioning firearm,” he said. “So I think there’s a very good chance that this individual — really, to his credit, did not intend to hurt anyone, did not intend to hurt a police officer, but this was his way of ending his own life.”
Winstrom said he didn’t want to draw any definitive conclusions, but he believed there was enough circumstantial evidence to indicate this was the case.
“In a canvass of the area, one of my officers actually encountered someone who said that this gentleman had conveyed to them that he was intending to partake in what’s often called suicide by cop,” he said. “So it’s a very difficult thing for everybody to process. Our condolences go out to his family. I think there’s a lot of progress still to be made in the mental health treatment that we have in our community.”
Below, watch Saturday’s full news conference.
He said officers had interacted with the man multiple times in the past month to provide mental health services.
“I know that our brothers and sisters in Detroit recently suffered a suicide by cop by one of their own members. It’s a devastating thing for a community,” Winstrom said. “Every loss of life, every unnecessary loss of life especially, is tragic. But it’s something that we’re grieving, and it’s difficult, obviously, not only for the loved ones of this individual but for the officers as well.”