State trooper's Tasing of boy, 15, focus of probe in Detroit
Robert Allen and Ann Zaniewski, Detroit Free Press Published 12:12 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2017 | Updated 9:10 a.m. ET Aug. 30, 2017
Detroit police are investigating an incident in which a State Police trooper Tased an unarmed, 15-year-old boy as he fled on an ATV, then crashed and died Saturday on Detroit's east side.
The trooper, who has been suspended, was said to be trying to stop Damon Grimes for recklessly driving the four-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle at about 5:30 p.m. State Police 1st Lt. Mike Shaw said it appears the trooper used the Taser on the boy from a patrol vehicle with the window rolled down.
Shaw said it is a violation of policy for an officer to deploy a Taser from a moving vehicle.
The ATV crashed into the rear of a pickup, police said.
Damon's relatives are struggling with grief and questions about his death.
"He didn't deserve what happened to him," his sister, Dezanique Grimes, 25, told the Free Press late Monday. "He was a good kid. A loving, happy kid."
At a news conference Monday afternoon, Detroit Police Chief James Craig announced that the department had opened an investigation into the incident.
"This in no way suggests any impropriety on the part of the Michigan State Police department, not at all. This is an independent investigation," he said.
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According to the State Police, the troopers pursued the ATV east on Rossini. "As the ATV approached Gratiot Avenue, the driver attempted to drive off the roadway onto the sidewalk, but crashed into the rear of a pickup truck," a news release said.
At the accident scene, troopers immediately began CPR, but the boy was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital and Medical Center, according to a previous statement from police.
Craig said state police were in the neighborhood because the agency has a partnership with Detroit as part of a
public safety initiative.
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