KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo police released bodycam footage from an officer-involved shooting that injured a man this morning.
"He’s got a gun in his hand. Drop it. Drop the gun," said a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officer in the bodycam footage.
The officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave after shooting and injuring the 47-year-old resident.
"A member of our community was shot by a KDPS officer," said Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley.
An officer was patrolling the area of Florence and Burrell about 2 a.m. Friday and officers were in the area because of a shooting that had happened three hours earlier in the 600 block of Florence.
The victim in that case refused to provide information and refused medical attention from KDPS, according to a news release.
An officer said they heard yelling and saw what seemed to be a verbal dispute in the same location where the earlier victim had been found.
When arriving at the scene, the officer was told one of the individuals involved in the dispute had a gun.
The officer approached and saw an armed individual and told them to “drop the gun.”
When the individual failed to do so, the officer fired a shot, hitting the person in the hip, KDPS said.
"I want to help him please come over here. Where is the gun? Where is the gun?," said the KDPS officer in the bodycam footage.
The officer then recovered the gun – which was loaded with an extended magazine – and gave the victim aid.
"The citizen is receiving medical attention at a local hospital, and he will survive this incident. The involved officer was not injured," said Chief Coakley.
The injured individual – a 47-year-old Kalamazoo resident – was taken to a local hospital.
“Although the man was not killed, he was shot with children present, and that will stick with those kids throughout their childhood," said Quinton Byrant, a longtime black lives matter activist. “It shows that a person can be shot once and is no longer a threat versus an officer shooting someone 10 times in the back and claiming it was to stop the threat," he said.
"The Michigan State Police, the Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and the city of Kalamazoo are all committed to being transparent about this situation," said Coakely.
KDPS chief released a statement about the officer-involved shooting in a video posted online Friday afternoon.
“Early this morning, a member of our community was shot by a KDPS officer. In a moment, I will play the footage from the body worn camera of the involved officer.
To ensure an independent, thorough and impartial investigation, the Michigan State Police have been caught in to oversee the investigation.
Once completed, the case will be given over to the Kalamazoo County prosecuting attorney's office who will review the officer’s actions. in compliance with the department policy and procedure.
The officer will be placed on administrative leave, while MSP completes its investigation. The citizen is receiving medical attention at a local hospital and he will survive this incident.
That involved officer was not injured. The Michigan State Police, the Kalamazoo County prosecuting attorney's office and the city of Kalamazoo are all committed to being transparent about this situation.
We asked our community to be patient while this investigative investigation is being conducted. I want to thank the witnesses and our partners at the Michigan State Police the prosecuting attorney's office for working with us to get the facts out quickly. As always, I love you Kalamazoo and I'll see you soon.”
Michigan State Police has been called in to take over the investigation of the incident.
After that investigation is completed, the case will be turned over to the Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for a review of the officer’s actions.
