A prosecutor declined to file charges Tuesday against a police officer who struck and killed a West Michigan teenager as the boy fled in a stolen vehicle.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker played video for reporters and said he found no evidence of intentional deadly force. Instead, he accused the driver of the stolen vehicle, another teenager, of causing the death while fleeing from police.
Riley Doggett, 17, was struck by a patrol car driven by a sheriff’s deputy at the end of a high-speed chase in Kent and Ottawa counties on April 8. He died from head injuries on May 9.
Doggett and another teenager were fleeing on foot from a stolen Range Rover after the vehicle crashed into parked cars in a shopping area.
Becker said the officer believed Doggett was dangerous and chased him through a parking lot at 22 mph. The teenager was holding a phone, not a gun.
“He’s trying to interrupt him,” the prosecutor said of the officer. “He didn’t do it properly and he hit him, maybe he cut too close, and obviously there were tragic results.”
One of Doggett’s shoes fell off and there were black marks, likely from a tire, on the lower leg, Becker noted.
Before speaking to reporters, Becker met with Doggett’s family and showed them the dashboard camera video.
“They clearly thought the deputy should be charged. I didn’t expect them to agree,” he said.
Ven Johnson, the family’s attorney, said he would ask the state attorney general to review the case for possible charges.
“It’s not even close,” Johnson said. “This officer intended to hit this kid.”
Last week, Johnson publicly asked authorities to release videos and other details, saying the family had been in the dark for too long.
Even if the teen had done “something stupid,” he did not deserve to be the victim of “illegal, unnecessary and deadly force,” Johnson said Friday, just hours before a memorial service for Doggett.
Doggett’s mother, Becky Wilbert, said he was a “good kid” regardless of the circumstances that preceded his death.
“He was funny. He was smart. He excelled in school,” Wilbert said. “He always told jokes, making everyone laugh. He was the piece of our family that held everyone together.”
___
Follow Ed White on X at
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
