Judge Kenneth King from the 36th District Court shared his terrifying story Wednesday of becoming the target of road rage.
The incident occurred on Sunday (Dec. 3) on the Southfield Freeway when an irate driver used his vehicle as a weapon against King from Oakwood Boulevard to 6 Mile Road in Detroit.
King told Local 4 that he nearly had to open fire to defend himself as his life was in danger. He said he was on the phone with 911, telling them he was armed and he may need to act to save his life.
“So, I’m about to get on the Southfield Freeway at Oakwood, and the car kind of swerves out in front of me, and I blow my horn, and then I ride past him,” said King. “I think it over with. I get on the freeway, and he chases me on the freeway, tries to ram my vehicle onto a wall, cuts me off, pulls in front of me, and comes to a complete stop. Harrassed me from Oakwood to all the way to 6 Mile in Detroit.”
King said he was trying to get away from the driver, who kept messing with the judge for about nine miles.
“He was putting himself, me, and every motorist in danger that was on the freeway,” King said.
King says he honked his horn not in anger but due to a quick instinct during the matter.
But a honk to a driver identified as 31-year-old Jamal Terrell Colbert in hopes that Colbert wouldn’t slam into him after cutting the judge off loomed dangerous.
Colbert was charged with felonious assault after prosecutors say he used his vehicle as a weapon against the judge for miles.
“I was in survival mode, thinking that I am going to have to hurt them before they hurt me,” King said.
Shawn Ley: “How would you do that?”
King: Shoot.
Shawn Ley: “You have to defend yourself.”
King: “Absolutely. I am waiting to see if they have a gun. If they have a gun, I will have to do something before they do.”
“I am on the line with the 911 operator, letting them know who I am,” King said. “I said, listen, ‘I am armed. If he does something, I am going to defend myself.’ She said, ‘Keep trying to separate yourself from him.”
“Because I do this every single day, I know how important it is to be able to identify the person. So, I paid very close attention to his face, his mannerisms because I knew I would have to identify him again.”
Colbert has a hearing on Friday at 36th District Court.
Judge King will have to leave the bench and be at that hearing in case he is called as a witness.