Twenty-five-year-old Samuel Sterling died approximately five hours after he was struck by a police cruiser during a foot pursuit.
According to Sterling’s death certificate released Wednesday, he sustained multiple blunt force injuries due to being struck by a vehicle. The document states that the crash happened around 11:25 a.m. on April 17th.
The manner of death is listed as “accident.”
Michigan State Police say they were looking for Sterling because of several outstanding felony warrants. When they found him at a gas station near the intersection of 52nd Street and Eastern Avenue in Kentwood, Sterling ran away.
Several officers pursued him on foot while an MSP detective sergeant in an unmarked vehicle drove parallel to him. The pursuit led to a nearby Burger King parking lot, where the unmarked cruiser struck Sterling. He later died at the hospital.
The detective sergeant who was driving the cruiser has been suspended while the crash is under investigation.
