DETROIT – The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday no charges will be issued in the deadly shooting of a man by a Dearborn police officer last year.
Kevin Matthews suffered multiple gunshot wounds during an encounter with a Dearborn police officer in December 2015. His death was ruled a homicide, but the Wayne County prosecutor has decided the officer acted within the law.
RELATED: Prosecutor: Dearborn officer acted in self-defense in fatal shooting of woman near Fairlane Mall
Police said the 35-year-old was wanted by police on a probation violation warrant and had escaped from officers earlier in the day after committing a larceny.
The Dearborn police officer was in the area of Tireman and Greenfield in Detroit when he spotted Matthews and a foot chase ensued, police said.
Police said there was a struggle over the officer's gun in a yard on Whitcomb, but the officer gained control of it and shot Matthews.
The officer was placed on paid leave during an investigation by the Michigan State Police and Detroit police.
It's been about a year later, and the Prosecutor's Office said after a lengthy investigation it has been deemed the officer was "lawfully permitted to exercise deadly force" in this situation.
It is clear that there was a chase and then a brief but intense struggle between Matthews and the officer. Items were torn from his uniform, duty belt, and person, and strewn throughout the backyard and driveway. The bodies of the two men slammed into the house and garage door, and caused damage to the siding of the home, and overturned and broke items in the driveway area. At various times during this struggle, Mr. Matthews broke free from the officer’s control, gained possession of his self-defense spray, ammunition magazines, and most importantly, struggled for control of his weapon as he lay on his back in the driveway. For these reasons, the officer certainly had a legitimate fear that Mr. Matthews would gain control of his weapon, and use it to harm him and make good his escape.
The facts and evidence in this case support the justification of the shooting under the law of self defense in Michigan. Particularly important is the lack of proof to overcome self defense. The argument that the officer was honestly and reasonably in fear of death or great bodily harm, is directly supported by the law and evidence in the case.
There is insufficient evidence to criminally charge the Dearborn officer because the facts and the applicable laws do not support charges that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt." -- Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
Here is how the prosecutors describe what happened:
In this case, the evidence supports that the police officer and Mr. Matthews were on the ground, in the grass area, struggling over Freeze +P spray, which Mr. Matthews had grabbed from the officer’s duty belt. The officer’s pepper spray appeared to have been thrown over a fence. This is corroborated by the fact that the spray canister was found in a position over the fence into the next drive way. It is further corroborated by the presence of divots in the grass, the loud noises witnesses heard and the damage to the house in the backyard.
Mr. Matthews pulled and tugged at the officer’s uniform as they continued to struggle. At this point in the struggle, the officer already faced the possibility of being incapacitated by pepper spray in the hands of Mr. Matthews, and by his clothing obstructing his vision, while he continued in an active struggle with him. Mr. Matthews briefly broke free from the officer’s control, and left the lawn area, fleeing to the driveway where their bodies hit the garage door and both fell to the ground.
The autopsy report provides further corroboration that Mr. Matthews was leaning over the officer when he fired. Although it is impossible to state the order in which the wounds were inflicted, the placement of the wounds, their paths and evidence of close range fire are consistent with an ongoing struggle, with Mr. Matthews struggling to gain control of the officer’s weapon. The shots that are upward and close range, very close range, and “almost contact” are consistent with Mr. Matthews positioned on top of the officer.
It started over Red Bull at gas station
The Prosecutor's Office said this started at a gas station where Dearborn police officers were called for a customer disturbance. Matthews allegedly was harassing a female worker at the gas station over an item he wanted for free.
From the Prosecutor's Office:
Matthews was harassing a female store clerk for an extended period of time to let him have a Redbull for free because he did not have enough money. Later, he concealed a Redbull in his pocket and she confronted him about it. She repeatedly asked him to put it back and leave. Mr. Matthews became loud, agitated and hostile, and tried to start a physical fight with an older male customer who attempted to intervene. The clerk then locked Mr. Matthews in the store and called the police.
Upon arrival, Dearborn police officers asked Mr. Matthews to step outside the gas station. Instead he fled from the scene on foot. Despite their efforts, they were unable to locate him again that night.
On December 23, 2015 at 12:24 p.m., while conducting an unrelated traffic stop in full uniform, in a marked scout car, a Dearborn police officer observed Mr. Matthews walking north on Greenfield near Tireman. The officer was aware of the incident on the prior shift, as well as an outstanding misdemeanor probation violation warrant for Mr. Matthews. The officer completed his traffic stop, drove to Whitcomb, and advised dispatch that he would be attempting to make contact with a suspect at Tireman and Whitcomb.
The scout car audio and video of the preceding traffic stop were reviewed. The male motorist from the traffic stop was also interviewed. When Mr. Matthews walked past the area of the traffic stop, the officer pointed him out to the motorist during the traffic stop and said that he had to go arrest Mr. Matthews because he ran from officers the night before. The officer also told the motorist that Matthews had never run from him before.
The officer drove onto Whitcomb to a point just north of Tireman, crossing into Detroit. He parked and exited his vehicle, and told Mr. Matthews to stop where he was. The officer was 6’1” tall and weighed 220 pounds. Mr. Matthews was 35 years old, 5’5” tall and weighed approximately 155 pounds.
Mr. Matthews ran and the officer pursued him on foot, yelling, "Stop - Police." The officer chased Mr. Matthews northbound on the west side of the street and then across Whitcomb to the east side of the street, where they ran up a driveway at 8800 block of Whitcomb. The officer and Mr. Matthews then climbed over a chain link fence into the backyard in the 8800 block of Whitcomb where the shooting took place.
Interviews with five civilian witnesses, the physical evidence and statements from other police officers that arrived at the scene after the shooting show that Mr. Matthews and the Dearborn police officer engaged in an intense struggle that started in the grass near the fence line. The struggle continued around the grass area, along the rear of the house, onto the paved driveway and up against a wood gate and garage door. The struggle ended in the driveway when Mr. Matthews, while standing over the officer, pulled the ammunition magazine from the officer’s duty belt, which was positioned next to his firearm. The officer, still on his back, fired nine shots from his weapon which struck and killed Mr. Matthews.
No video from police car
Prosecutors said "from the location where the officer parked his scout car, and prior to beginning the foot chase, it would have been impossible to capture video of the struggle in the backyard of 8800 block of Whitcomb.
"As a result, there is no scout car video or audio of the officer’s December 23, 2015 struggle with Mr. Matthews in the driveway in the 8800 block of Whitcomb. There is only an approximately ten second long video, where the officer entered the picture from the area of the front driver’s side of the police car, chasing Mr. Matthews. Both go to the left, behind a tree or shrub, momentarily before reentering the picture on the right of the screen, with the officer still chasing behind Mr. Matthews. Both then exit the screen to the right."
Watch previous report:
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