PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of running over a sheriff’s deputy in southeastern Michigan has been convicted of murder.
Oakland County Deputy Eric Overall was hit outside his vehicle on Thanksgiving 2017 while deploying “stop sticks” to deflate a vehicle’s tires.
Christopher Berak was accused of leading Lapeer County deputies on a chase and deliberately hitting the 50-year-old Overall at a Brandon Township intersection. Berak was convicted Friday of first-degree murder and murder of a police officer.
Overall’s son, Ken, says it was the “outcome we were hoping for.” But defense attorney Steve Rabaut says Berak had no intention of striking the deputy and was reacting to the stop sticks in the road.
The 24-year-old Berak faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
