would not be afraid to commit gun violence, and that he had nothing to lose.

February 13, 2018

On November 28, 2017, Robert Smith, a 64-year old resident of Charlotte,

Michigan, was fatally shot by officers of the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office.

Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich requested that Michigan State Police investigate
this incident. The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office was assigned to review
this incident as a Special Prosecutor, for possible criminal charges.

On that November date, the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office planned to serve an
arrest warrant for Mr. Smith, as well as a search warrant for his home.

The purpose of the search warrant was to search for firearms, illegally
possessed due to Mr. Smith’s status as a felon. Two days before the incident,
Mr. Smith had been arrested by DNR officers for driving while intoxicated. At
that time, a gun was recovered from Mr. Smith. At that time, Mr. Smith told
officers that he would not be afraid to commit gun violence, and that he had
nothing to lose.

In addition to the drunk driving charge, Mr. Smith had charges alleging him to
be a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana, and open
intoxicant in a motor vehicle.

While deputies were conducting surveillance of the residence prior to serving

the search warrant, they observed Mr. Smith leaving his residence in a pick-up
truck.

The Deputies attempted to stop the vehicle and effectuate the arrest of Mr.
Smith, but he refused to comply. He turned his truck around and faced the
Deputies with it. At this time, the body camera footage shows that one or both
Deputies were making loud, clear commands for Mr. Smith to stop the vehicle.
At least one of the Deputies was out of his car and in a defensive position,
pointing his gun at the suspect and his vehicle.
Instead of complying with their commands, Mr. Smith shouted “Shoot my ass”
at the officers, backed up his truck, and then sped toward the Deputies.

The pick-up truck hit a Sheriff’s Office patrol car, and the impact caused that
patrol car to hit the detective’s unmarked vehicle. The detective was thrown to
the ground and injured at this time. (One of the two Deputies referred to in this
statement is a Detective with Eaton County Sheriff’s Office).

While the Deputies were under assault by the oncoming vehicle, they fired upon
Mr. Smith. A total of 16 rounds were fired in the direction of Mr. Smith and his
vehicle. Each Deputy fired eight rounds.

The autopsy report indicated that the cause of death was a single gunshot to
the head. That report further stated that the deceased Mr. Smith has a blood-
alcohol concentration of 0.19%, and also had marijuana and prescription anti-
depressant medication in his system at the time.

All persons have the right to use force to protect themselves and others from
violence. A review of the body camera footage clearly shows that these Deputies
were under direct assault and used reasonable force under those
circumstances.

Based on a review of the police reports and the body camera footage, we find
that there was no other reasonable means to avert the threat of Mr. Smith and
his vehicle. As such, no criminal charges will be pursued against either Deputy.

Carol Siemon

Ingham County Prosecutor