Just after midnight this morning, a vehicle passenger suffered non-life-threatening injuries, after a Battle Creek Police officer shot them during a traffic stop.
At 12:13 a.m., an officer stopped a vehicle for numerous traffic violations at Columbia Avenue and LaVista Boulevard. Those included erratic driving, stopping and backing up in the middle of the road, and an illegal turn. As the officer spoke to the driver outside the vehicle, a second officer arrived, and approached the vehicle’s front passenger.
The second officer observed a gun in the passenger’s waistband, commanded the passenger to put their hands up, and stated they would remove the passenger’s gun for safety. The passenger initially followed the second officer’s commands. As the second officer reached for the gun in the passenger’s waistband, the passenger began to resist the second officer, and reached for a second gun, on the floor.
The second officer shot their own gun, striking the passenger.
Police recovered both guns from the incident.
LifeCare Ambulance transported the passenger to a Kalamazoo hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The two officers, and the vehicle’s driver, were not injured. Police arrested the driver on charges related to the traffic stop.
Michigan State Police now are investigating the incident, a standard procedure, with full cooperation from the Battle Creek Police Department. The BCPD placed the two officers involved on paid administrative leave, pending the investigation’s outcome, also a standard procedure.