GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids neighbor is putting together the pieces after a confrontation with police left a man shot and killed in her backyard on Widdicomb near 12th Avenue.
WATCH: 'Multiple blood stains': Neighbor recounts man shot in her GR backyard
Taylor did not want to share her face or last name, but said when Grand Rapids Police arrived in her neighborhood, she was told to stay inside.
“Probably about 15, 20 seconds later, they rushed to the backyard. I heard ‘he's here, he's here.’ I thought they were in the neighbor's yard because my yard is completely fenced in, and it turns out he was in my backyard, because 5, 10 seconds later I heard gunshots," Taylor said. "I had a tank in front of my house, I had a police dog, I had at least 20 officers."
GRPD says the incident started on Alpine around 1:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon with a call about a man threatening family members with a knife.
When officers arrived, they say the man threw a Molotov cocktail at them and took off.
Grand Rapids
GRPD: Man shot and killed after throwing Molotov cocktail, stabbing police K9
He ultimately landed in Taylor's backyard.
“There was a police officer standing behind the wooden fence with an AR pointed directly at my house, I could see him clearly through my back window,” Taylor said.
Taylor said it looked like the man was hiding on the ground behind her landlord's porch. “If he wanted to break into my house, he could have, and he didn’t,” Taylor said.
Officers used a police K9 to try and stop the man. He stabbed the dog, then charged at officers.
An officer shot the man, and he died by Taylor's backdoor.
“There's two bullet holes in my house, one is very close to where the window was that I was standing at, where I saw the police officer, and I was standing right there when the gunshots went off," Taylor said. “They literally drug his body from the dirt under my landlord's stairs onto my back porch. There's multiple blood stains in my cement.”
Taylor said she attempted to clean after the scene cleared, but this life lost has stuck with her.
“I was painting my spare bedroom and I was staring out the window, and I was just disgusted and sad, and I was getting more furious," Taylor said. "So I went out there and used my supplies and threw them all away after cleaning it, because who wants that?”
Michigan State Police is investigating the shooting and the officer is on administrative leave, as is policy.
GRPD says the K9 involved had a deep cut, but it was stitched up and the dog is headed back home. They said it is lucky the dog survived.
