MUSKEGON, MI – Video of a police officer shooting an armed teenage girl chasing her boyfriend has been released by the Muskegon County Prosecutor's office.
The video, taken from the Muskegon Police officer's cruiser, shows the officer shoot four times in quick succession at the 15-year-old girl outside the Carriage House apartments on Aug. 12. The girl was shot once in the leg and was treated and released from the hospital the same day.
Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson announced Tuesday that no charges would be filed against Muskegon Police Officer Doug Conrad, whom Hilson determined was justified in shooting the girl to protect the 16-year-old boy she was chasing.
The girl was armed with an 8 ½-inch serrated knife and a 14-inch barbecue fork, officials said, and she can be seen holding them in the video.
The cruiser video shows Conrad pulling up outside the quiet townhouse complex at 1880 Oak Avenue around 1:10 p.m. and walking along the sidewalk. Suddenly, the shirtless boy enters the frame from the left, running at full sprint pursued by the girl who is between 6-8 feet behind him and they cross the sidewalk directly in front of the officer.
Conrad yells "Hey, hey, hey, drop it, drop it," as he reaches for his holstered gun and fires four shots in rapid succession from about 10 feet away. The girl falls and continues screaming and crying while the officer moves to handcuff her and render aid.
Close inspection of the video shows that some sort of weapon flies out of the girl's hand when she's shot. Prosecution officials said the knife was found about 3 feet from the girl, and the fork was about 10 feet away.
The video also shows how quickly the episode unfolded; prosecutors said the officer had three seconds to assess the danger and react.
The entire 43-minute video shows numerous other law enforcement officers arriving, securing the scene and searching for evidence as bystanders walk about. Rain begins falling, obscuring the investigators outside as an officer brings the 16-year-old boy into the cruiser and interviews him. The officer chides the boy for being disrespectful, and the boy expresses concern about his 12-year-old nephew who was inside the home when the altercation began.
Much of their conversation is muffled though the boy begins yelling while sitting in the back of the cruiser.
The officer had been called to the apartment complex near Oak Avenue and Quarterline Road to investigate a dispute between the two teens over a computer. The boy told a dispatcher the girl had cut him with a knife, that he locked himself in a bathroom and that she was banging on the door to get inside.
The girl, who reportedly had a history of assaulting her 16-year-old boyfriend, has been charged in juvenile court with assault with a dangerous weapon. The Michigan State Police conducted an independent investigation of the shooting and forwarded its findings upon which Hilson made his decision.
Conrad remains on administrative leave while the Muskegon Police Department conducts its own internal review, Muskegon Police Chief Jeffrey Lewis said.
