No charges in 2 fatal shootings by Dearborn police

By ED WHITE - Associated Press - Wednesday, December 21, 2016

DETROIT (AP) - No charges will be filed in separate fatal shootings by suburban Detroit police, a prosecutor announced Wednesday, calling them cases of self-defense.

Kevin Matthews and Janet Wilson were killed by Dearborn police in incidents that were a month apart.

“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.”

A Dearborn officer repeatedly shot Wilson, 31, while she was in her car on a busy street last January. Police were pursuing her after a dispute was reported inside and outside Fairlane Mall.

Worthy said Wilson was shot as she drove toward the officer and refused to stop her car.

“Ms. Wilson exhibited erratic and aggressive behavior at the Fairlane Mall that caused multiple people and security personnel to be placed in fear,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “There is substantial evidence to show that Ms. Wilson was the initial aggressor.”

Matthews, 35, was wanted in December 2015 for a probation violation and a confrontation with a gas station clerk in Dearborn. He was killed in Detroit by a Dearborn officer after a foot chase and physical struggle.

Matthews at times broke free, grabbed the officer’s self-defense spray and ammunition and tried to get his gun, the prosecutor’s office said.

The officer was on his back when he repeatedly shot Matthews.

“The officer certainly had a legitimate fear that Mr. Matthews would gain control of his weapon and use it to harm him and make good his escape,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Dearborn still faces civil lawsuits by the families. In April, the U.S. Justice Department expressed confidence in Dearborn police but said it would review the department’s use-of-force policies and give advice.

Attorney A. Vince Colella, who is representing Wilson’s family, said Worthy’s decision is a “dark day in the criminal justice system.”

“The criminal justice system has obstacles that protected the officer involved in this case,” Colella said. “The federal legal process, where this case is headed now, does not.”

Worthy has prosecuted police officers with mixed results. Inkster Officer William Melendez last year was convicted of assault for beating a motorist in the head 16 times, an incident that was recorded on video. A judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Detroit Officer Joseph Weekley during a second trial. He accidentally shot and killed a 7-year-old girl during a raid in 2010.