GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The family of a Grand Rapids man shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy two years ago is suing the deputies involved, the former and current sheriff, and Kent County.
A 32-page lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday by Jonathan Sper's estate alleges Deputies Jason Wiersma and John Tuinhoff, then-Sheriff Lawrence Stelma, then-Undersheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young and Kent County are responsible for Sper's wrongful death at his brother's home north of Rockford in January 2017.
Deputies had been called to the home because Sper, 30, who had bipolar and schizoaffective disorders, was fighting with one of his brothers. The lawsuit says the brother told 911 dispatchers and deputies that Sper was experiencing a manic episode and that he didn't feel as though he was in danger. However, he also warned them that Sper may have been able to access to a gun in a vehicle in the garage.
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