A Calhoun County deputy was involved in a shooting yesterday afternoon in Springfield Michigan as has been reported on many news outlets today.  The official line that has been developed since yesterday afternoon seem to highly contradict information that was earlier received from neighbors.  The man shot is likely to survive, and it's likely the altercation was caught on the deputy's in-car recording device, so we may find out what the truth is, eventually.  But the truth seems far off when we get such disparate reports.  The first comes today via the Battle Creek Enquirer:

A man who was shot by a Calhoun County sheriff's deputy Wednesday afternoon had been pursued by police and had advanced toward the deputy with a realistic toy handgun, officers at the scene said.

The pursuit began on Avenue A in Springfield after a sheriff's deputy spotted a pickup truck matching the description of the escape vehicle in an gas station robbery. The deputy chased the vehicle to a home on North 30th Street in Springfield, Battle Creek police officers and sheriff's deputies at the scene said.

Officers said the man exited the truck, went into the garage and came out pointing a gun at the deputy. The deputy retreated, ordered the man to drop the weapon, and fired as many as 14 shots at the man when he continued to advance toward the deputy. Two or three shots struck the man, officers said. They said the man was taken to a hospital by ambulance. He was expected to survive.

The airsoft-type weapon had been altered to remove the orange barrel tip that shows it is not a real weapon, Sheriff Matt Saxton said.

The 50-year-old man who was shot is a suspect in the Sunday armed robbery of a Citgo gas station on West Michigan Avenue in Bedford Township, authorities said.

The shooting occurred sometime after 12:40 p.m. at 328 N. 30th Street, in a residential area north of Dickman Road. The officer who shot the man is a 48-year-old sergeant with more than 13 years in the sheriff's department.

The investigation of the shooting will be conducted by Battle Creek police, officers said. Battle Creek officers and Michigan State Police troopers were at the shooting scene.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/local/2016/02/03/man-...

This schedule of events was the official line being reported at other news organization sites also, such as WZZM, WOOD, MLIVE, FOX17 and others, posted today on February 3, a day after the event.  All of these outlets asked only the police for information, not the shooting victim or the neighbors.  And although he is claimed to be a suspect in a crime, the only reason seems to be that he drove a vehicle similar to one that was involved in a cold crime.

But as this story was developing, a reporter who got to the scene before the authorities would release their side of events asked some neighbors about what they heard or saw.  The video at this link (WWMT: Officer involved shooting in Calhoun Co.) has a news reporter at the developing scene telling us that there was no official word at the time, but that she did interview some of the neighbors and at 15 seconds into the video:  "neighbors are telling us that just before 1:00 this afternoon they heard several shots followed by someone saying "Come out with your hands up" and then several more shots..."

Compare that to what the 'official' story is, where the man shot was outside advancing towards the deputy, the deputy retreated and ordered the man to drop the weapon before the deputy fired.  From the photos, the deputy's dash cam on his vehicle  should have caught not only the audio but most of the video of the interaction; look for this to be withheld from the public if it does not reflect the official line as the deputy is investigated by the Battle Creek PD. 

Fortunately, the man looks as if he will survive and be able to tell us his story at some point, for the police seem to be creating a myth here at first look.

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Well real gun or toy gun , if what is reported is true, the man deserves to be shot if he didn't stop and drop the gun. On another note that deputy better go to the target range and do some practicing. 10 out of 14 shots fired missed. Why don't they just issue machine guns.

Two different things are reported, however, one of which must be false.  The official line has a menacing crime suspect with a gun advancing menacingly towards the deputy who because of this shoots repeatedly at him.

The unofficial line from earwitnesses alerted by gunfire has them hearing shots fired then the deputy saying "Come out with your hands up."  The deputy wouldn't have been saying that if he was advancing on him outside the garage when he fired the first shots. 

Then consider:  Why would the neighbors be falsifying their testimony?

I don't know if he deserved to be shot but from the information that has been divulged, the man didn't leave the police any option. He appeared to be hell bent on shooting someone. I agree that the officer needs more training. The deputy endangered the neighbors more than the man he shot because 11 or 12 of the bullets fired by the officer went into the neighborhood. It was lucky that no one was hurt or killed by the officers stray bullets.

What's so odd about that, I recall a police recording in our area: Bang [ officers gun going off ] drop the gun!!!

The latest update from WOOD appears to have a neighbor from across the street who witnessed the shooting take place and believes the officer acted properly.  Plus it does describe the man shot, Dennis Shirk, as a disreputable person.  Still, it seems like another contrasting version, and it would be nice for the police involved to provide the dashcam footage at some point.

 http://woodtv.com/2016/02/03/officer-involved-shooting-in-springfield/

You are of course relating the story of revered MCE retired school teacher Bill Marble, struck down in his living room by a bullet from MSP Trooper James Luttrell on a cold January night not that long ago:

http://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/forum/topics/police-recording-has-...

The police have released the video seen at this WOOD link, [Caution: may not be for the faint-hearted] it looks as if the deputy used some discretion, while the suspect looks to have wanted to be shot.  It does show why the three disparate stories coming from the initially interviewed witnesses, the deputy, and the across the street witness were all true to their extent.

It remains to be seen whether he is the armed robbery suspect that hit the Battle Creek Citgo over the weekend.  The public was told the robber was in his 30s and was driving a brown Silverado.  This guy was 50, and worried that he would probably be going to jail even if he hadn't been the robber, it may have been his bad luck to drive the wrong color chevy truck-- and then do stupid things.

I don't know what to make of the video. The man was acting like a target in a shooting arcade. Up and down, back and forth. Either the man was as stupid as they come, was drunk or on drugs or he had a death wish. If I were being shot at I wouldn't give someone a chance to hit me, I'd duck down and stay there especially if I had no real weapon. What still worries me is the number of shots fired by the cop without regard for the people who lived in the area. I understand that the cop didn't want to end up on a slab, who does, but shooting willy nilly at a moving target without knowing where his bullets may end up reveals to me a person who panicked. I'm curious about whether the man was actually the robber or if he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and thought the cop was after him for violating his parole.

I think there should be some dialog between the citizens of Calhoun County and their sheriff's office as to whether this was incident was handled 100% properly once all the particulars surface.  One can make the case that the deputy shot too early, too often, without deference to the rest of the neighborhood or without attempt to de-escalate the situation. 

But in this case, one can also decide that the deputy was operating under the belief that this was a suspected armed robber who eluded the police, ran into a garage, and brought out what appeared to be a gun.  In a situation like that, it's a quick call you have to make in order to evaluate your own safety and the safety of those in the neighborhood.  With the erratic actions of the suspect, I find it hard to fault the deputy for his actions. 

Unfortunately, the only true review of his actions will be conducted by fellow police officers who will find he was completely warranted in his actions and followed CCSO policy in every aspect.  While that may or may not be the case, it means little to citizens that distrust police policing their own.

Law enforcement / police are licensed by the state aren't they? I wonder why they are reviewed by there superiors or other police departments. If you are a doctor, nurse, builder or any other person licensed by the state you have a board of review to investigate to see if there was any wrong doings. Not your buds on the force. Same with the local prosecutor, what makes him the final word?

Police are not listed in the State of Michigan's database for licensing.  I find this unacceptable.  Hell, even a funeral home or crematorium requires licensing.  Want to get a haircut, tattoo, run a daycare etc...the state of Michigan allows one to verify their license or any disciplinary action the State has sanctioned against an individual or a business.  The State can easily revoke any license......

But.....cops, lawyers, prosecuting attorney's, judges are exempt from the citizen's.  Its' that thin blue line you know??

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