DEARBORN, Mich. – The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that no charges would be filed in the fatal shooting of a woman who allegedly tried to run over a police officer in January.
Dearborn police shot and killed Janet Wilson, of Detroit, on Hubbard Drive near the Fairlane Town Center mall Jan. 27 after an altercation with security guards.
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According to authorities, Wilson began arguing with employees at the Solstice Sunglasses store in the mall and was confronted by a security officer.
Wilson was asked to leave the mall and was escorted to the parking lot. She allegedly tried hitting several security vehicles with her Chevrolet HHR. Dearborn police were called to the scene.
Officers attempted a traffic stop. Authorities said Wilson did not pull over and rant a stop sign before pulling onto Hubbard Drive, where she was stopped due to traffic.
Officers approached the vehicle and when traffic cleared, Wilson drove forward toward one of the officers, authorities said. The officer drew his firearm and ordered the vehicle to stop. He fired three times through the front windshield and once through the passenger side window.
Wilson was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
“Our goal is to make sure that we make just decisions according to the applicable law,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. “These decisions were particularly difficult and heart wrenching for all parties involved, including me. We take our responsibility very seriously and both cases had many issues to investigate. This added significant time to our ability to come to just decisions. We interviewed numerous witnesses, reviewed reports, analyzed all the physical evidence, police training materials, medical records, and consulted with multiple experts. Thoroughness takes time.”
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The prosecutor’s office said that eyewitness accounts support the justification of the shooting under the law of self-defense and the apprehension of a fleeing felon.
The following information was released by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office:
It is well established that a police officer attempting to make a lawful arrest may use that force which is reasonable under the circumstances in his own self-defense. Further, a police officer, by the necessity of his duties, is not required to retreat before a display of force by his adversary People v. Doss, 406 Mich 90 (1979). In People v. Heflin, 434 Mich 482 at 502 (1990), the Michigan Supreme Court held that “the killing of another person in self-defense is justifiable homicide if the defendant honestly and reasonably believes that his life is in imminent danger or that there is a threat of serious bodily harm.” Further, officers can be mistaken as to the degree of danger they are actually in, as long as their belief was reasonable under the circumstances.
In this case, multiple witnesses have stated that the vehicle was driven at Dearborn Police Department Officer 2 before he fired, and some believe he was struck by the vehicle before the shots were fired. Witness accounts place Officer 2 within inches of the front bumper when the vehicle began to move. Although he was not actually hit, the witnesses’ accounts substantiate how close he was to the car when Ms. Wilson began to drive. The video shows Officer 2 backing away from her car as he continues to shoot. It does not make sense that he would move backward and discharge his weapon unless he felt the need to immediately move to a place of safety while Ms. Wilson’s car was moving. This is especially true given how close his fellow officers were to the car and how many civilians were in the area. Three of the bullets went through the front windshield on passenger side and one shattered the front passenger side window.
Ms. Wilson exhibited erratic and aggressive behavior at the Fairlane Mall that caused multiple people and security personnel to be placed in fear. There is substantial evidence to show that Ms. Wilson was the initial aggressor and that her over 3,000 pound vehicle was used as a deadly weapon. The Dearborn Police Department officers were informed by dispatch and Fairlane Mall security that Ms. Wilson had tried to run them down with her vehicle. This information is important when considering Officer 2’s state of mind and reasonable belief that his life was in imminent danger or there was a threat of serious bodily harm.
In addition, her volatile and aggressive conduct was not an isolated incident. There are several incidents involving Ms. Wilson that were previously reported to the police, however, they did not result in criminal charges. For example:
o Family members were previously subjected to her physical attacks including an incident of felonious assault with a knife on a family member.
o In October of 2015, after a confrontation with family members, she attempted to run down a U.S. Postal employee.
o Police officers were subjected to assaults and combative incidents when called by the family, including biting, kicking, hitting, and deep scratch wounds.
Apprehension of a Fleeing Felon
Currently, Michigan’s common law allows police officers to utilize deadly force when necessary to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon. Michigan’s common law allows an officer to legally shoot and kill an unarmed individual who flees after committing a non-assaultive felony.
Under People v. Couch, 436 Mich 414, 461 NW2d 683 (1990), the Michigan Supreme Court stated that, until changed by the state’s legislature, it has been and continues to be that, under Michigan’s common law, an officer may utilize deadly force, when necessary, to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon. The court further stated that Michigan’s common law does not distinguish between dangerous and non-dangerous felonies. The Court declined to impose such a restriction, saying that the decision of whether police officers (or citizens) should be subject to criminal liability for the killing of a non-dangerous fleeing felon is a question for the legislature. In the subsequent case of People v. Fiedler, 194 Mich App 682 (1992), the Fleeing Felon doctrine was narrowed slightly. Under Fiedler, it is required that an officer have both reasonable cause to believe that a felony has been committed and reasonable cause to believe that the person, against whom deadly force is used, committed the felony.
In this case, the Dearborn police had probable cause to believe Ms. Wilson had committed several felonies including Felonious Assault, Resisting and Obstructing and Fleeing and Eluding in the Third Degree. The police tried to stop her car, but she attempted to flee by driving away when traffic cleared in front of her. A number of people were potentially in danger from Ms. Wilson’s actions. They did not have time to move their cars to block her in and the use of a taser or pepper spray was not possible with her being locked in her car. The use of deadly force (discharge of his duty weapon) was the only available means to immediately prevent her from escaping. In other words, the only means available to stop her from being a danger to others was to shoot.
