WYOMING, Mich. - The Kent County Prosecutor's Office has released information related to the investigation of an officer-involved shooting in Wyoming that left one dead on March 30.
According to the release, Joel Peloquin was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In nearly the same moment that he shot himself, Wyoming Police shot Peloquin three times.
On Friday night March 30, Wyoming Police were dispatched the cemetery because of reports of a person who had a gun and was threatening to kill himself.
There were three other people at the cemetery who interacted with Peloquin around 5 p.m. Peloquin approached Charles Morgan, Kellie Vanwieran and Joyce Reed and asked if they could donate money to St. Jude for him.
He tried to giving $19 to Vanwieran, saying that he didn't need it anymore. He proceeded to to say that he was going to hell since he had done bad things.
Peloquin then told the three people that he had come to the cemetery to kill himself by his grandparents' grave site. He also said that if they called the police he would shoot himself.
Morgan, Vanwieran and Reed all tried to dissuade Peloquin from killing himself. The release states that Peloquin told the other three people at the cemetery that he was "done with it all," and he was "not getting into heaven and had done bad things."
Peloquin also indicated that he had been drinking and was on some kind of drug.
Because Peloquin threatened to kill himself if any of the people called the police, Vanwieran texted her mother about the situation. Dispatchers from 911 then texted Vanwieran directly, and Wyoming Police were dispatched around 5:40 p.m.
Three officers arrived to the scene around the same time: Officers Dwayn Holmberg and Lee Atkinson and Sgt. Ross Eagan.
The three officers were able to approach Peloquin on foot without him noticing. They attempted to get him under control before he noticed their arrival, but he turned, saw the officers and started to run away.
Morgan, one of the people at the cemetery, unsuccessfully tried to tackle Peloquin who continued to run from the scene. He then stopped and suddenly turned to face the officers with a gun in his hand.
The Kent County Prosecutor's Office published sections of reports from all three officers as well as statements from the witnesses. Between those various accounts, the prosecutor's office reached their conclusion.
When Peloquin stopped and turned toward police, reports from the officers say that he raised a gun towards his head. When the officers saw the weapon, two of them fired shots at Peloquin. On the night of the incident, it was not determined if the man had died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound or from an officer's round.
However, the medical examiner said that "the officers fired multiple shots; only three stuck Mr. Peloquin. None of these shots would have been fatal." The fatal wound was the gunshot to the head, which was self-inflicted.
In Sgt. Eagan's report, he said that when Peloquin turned toward him with a gun in his hand, "This action cause me to believe that he was going to fire his gun at me, the officers and/or the bystanders. Based on the fear that we were in imminent, life-threatening danger, I pointed my service weapon at him and began firing my weapon."
Detectives with the Kent County Sheriff's Office determined a possible motive for Peloquin's suicide. Two days prior to his death, the Allegan County Sheriff's Department had seized Peloquin's computer because he was being investigated for possessing child pornography.
On the night of the officer-involved shooting, Peloquin had a blood alcohol level of 0.16.
Kent County Prosecutor, Chris Becker said in the report that the officers needed to make a split-second decision on firing their weapons when Peloquin's gun came out. "Mr. Peloquin was able to get the gun to his head and shoot himself at virtually the same moment, ending his life."
Becker said the officers were justified in their decision making. None of the officers involved will face criminal charges.
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