DETROIT (AP) — A former Michigan state trooper has been sentenced to at least five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter for firing a Taser at a Detroit teenager who crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died.
Mark Bessner told a judge Monday that he understands the anger of Damon Grimes’ family. He says he wishes he could enter a “time machine” and change the events of August 2017.
Bessner faces up to 15 years but is eligible for parole after five.
Bessner says he shot Grimes with a Taser from a moving patrol car because he wrongly believed the black 15-year-old had a gun. Bessner, who is white, quit the state police after the incident.
Judge Margaret Van Houten says cases like the teen’s death cause the public to distrust police officers.
