by
Rayvon Shahid
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel concluded Friday that Michigan State Police acted in self-defense and no charges will be filed in the fatal shooting last Nov. 2 of Rayvon Shahid, 17, of Flint.
"The Department of Attorney General review concluded the officers initial stop of Shahid was proper and legal and the use of deadly force was a justified exercise of self-defense and defense of others," Nessel said in a statement.
The confrontation began, according to Nessel's office, after a state trooper in a patrol car observed Shahid in a ski-mask near the intersection of Martin Luther King Avenue and East Dewey Street in Flint. The trooper saw a bulge in the right side of his waistband that he suspected was a gun.
Shahid allegedly was acting suspiciiously, hiding behind a buliding on the east side of MLK Ave. The trooper, along with a fellow trooper in the car, circled the block to make a stop for suspicion of carrying a firearm.
The two troopers drove up on Shahid who was walking north on West Essex and activated the police lights. They exited their car around 6:35 p.m.
After a brief exchange, Shahid reached under his jacket with his right hand where the troopers suspected he was carrying a gun, according to the AG's office.
At that point, both troopers unholstered their pistols and instructed Shahid not to reach for anything and to get on the ground.
Shahid eventually ran. Both troopers pursued him on foot, and observed the now-visible gun Shahid was carrying in his right hand.
One of the troopers tried unsuccessfully to taser Shahid’s in the back.
During the pursuit, the troopers ordered Shahid to “drop the gun” about 10 times during the 25-second foot chase
As he approached Pasadena Avenue, in the direction of nearby businesses and bystanders, the troopers fired their guns and Shahid collapsed on the sidewalk, near his pistol that had an extended magazine carrying 24 rounds of ammunition.
Both troopers administered first-aid. Shahid was pronounced dead at the hospital.
"Had the Troopers allowed Mr. Shahid to flee as he attempted, armed and in the direction of many homes and an open business all presumably populated, this would have posed a significant risk to the community," Nessel wrote in her report.
Attorney Arnold Reed, who is representing Shahid's family, maintains that the troopers had no reason to approach Shahid in the first place, ABC 12 News in Flint reports. He indicated a lawsuit will be forthcoming.
"This is a clear-cut case of kill, kill, and over kill, and then kill again," Reed wrote in a statement. "It is a shame that these Troopers shot this kid. They shot him like he was an animal."
