GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man from Grand Rapids faces charges of publicly posting the address of who he believes is the officer involved in a deadly shooting earlier this month, but investigators say that personal information was for a man living in the Upper Peninsula.
The Kent County Prosecutor's Office charged Michael Buxton with unlawful posting of a message and using a computer to commit a crime. Buxton allegedly posted on Facebook the name and address of the officer who he believed shot Da'Quan Johnson on February 18. The post also identified the man's wife and other relatives by name, plus the addresses of schools where his children attended, according to court documents.
However, investigators determined Buxton misidentified the officer as a man from the U.P.
FOX 17 is not identifying the man named in the post.
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Buxton's alleged post even mentioned that the supposed officer lived in the U.P.
"This is the dirty racist police officer," the post read, per court records. "who drive 5hrs everyday from... the UP to come patrol the southeast side of Grand Rapids a predominately all black neighborhood to kill us."
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The U.P. man started receiving threats over social media, including a wanted poster that stated "by any means necessary," according to court documents. The man, who police said had no previous connection to Buxton, removed his family from their home for their safety.
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Buxton was set to be arraigned Thursday morning. If convicted on both felony charges, he could be sentenced to up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
