KENTWOOD, Mich. — The family of 25-year-old Samuel Sterling has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Crump's law firm said in a statement they are seeking justice.
"It is unconscionable that Sameul Sterling was run over by a police officer's vehicle in broad daylight. The Michigan State Police officers involved in Samuel's death should be swiftly and thoroughly investigated for this senseless and preventable tragedy," Crump said.
"Samuel's parents will never be able to hold their son again and his own children will grow up without a father. We demand answers and are seeking justice and accountability on behalf of Samuel's family."
Michigan State Police said Samuel Sterling died at the hospital last week as a result of getting hit by an unmarked MSP vehicle.
According to the agency, he was putting air in his tires when he was found by multiple agencies looking for him on felony warrants.
Police said when he was approached by officers, he ran away, leading to a chase that ended with the police vehicle striking him.
The head of the Michigan State Police, Col. James F. Grady II previously released a statement on the death investigation:
"Yesterday, a member of our department was involved in an incident that ended with the loss of life. As an African American male and a father, it's not lost on me that this is the death of another young African American male following an interaction with police.
As the Director of the Michigan State Police, I want to assure the community that we see you, hear you and will thoroughly and expeditiously investigate the incident.
A full investigation of yesterday’s incident is underway. The investigation, which is being conducted by investigators from a neighboring MSP district, will be thorough and objective. Our role is to be finders of fact and to compile those facts in an objective manner.
What we know at this time is limited and still subject to change. There is much investigative work yet to be done and I ask that we let the investigation proceed before drawing any conclusions.
Our initial investigation shows that the MSP Sixth District Fugitive Team along with members of the Kentwood, Wyoming and Grand Rapids police departments, Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) and U.S. Marshals Service, were working a fugitive arrest operation in Kentwood yesterday in an attempt to locate and arrest Samuel Sterling, who was wanted on multiple warrants.
Preliminary reports indicate officers observed Sterling at a gas station at 52nd Street and Eastern Avenue, putting air in a vehicle’s tires, and upon approaching him, he fled on foot.
Several officers pursued him on foot, while one MSP officer in an unmarked vehicle drove parallel to him. They ended up converging in the parking lot of Burger King on Eastern Avenue, where the vehicle driven by the MSP member struck Sterling.
Emergency medical support was summoned to the scene and transported Sterling to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
The MSP member driving the vehicle has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
Sterling's mother Andrica, along with the mother of Sterling's children Brianna Small said they're heartbroken over his death.
"If we could go back in time, if (there was) something that we could say to him, we would," said Small. "We're all hurting. It just hits different. He had kids. They have to grow up without their dad now."
"Anybody he touched he put a smile on their face," said Andrica. "He didn't care who you were."
Ben Crump is no stranger to West Michigan.
The family of Patrick Lyoya also retained him to examine his case.
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