GRPD interim police chief Joe Trigg speaking at a news conference Wednesday, June 3, about an officer-involved shooting.Photo: Screen capture from WOOD-TV 8 livestream.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The media got a look Wednesday afternoon at video of the wild scene that unfolded Saturday afternoon in northwest Grand Rapids, leading to a fatal officer-involved shooting.
A 46-year-old man allegedly went on a rampage, threatening his family with a knife in a house on Alpine Avenue before throwing a Molotov cocktail that caused a police cruiser to catch on fire.
The dashcam video shows a man running up towards a police vehicle and throwing a Molotov cocktail at it, catching it on fire. An officer is heard shouting at Deans to drop it. The fire was put out quickly.
Later, police say Eddie Deans Jr. attempted to carjack a vehicle and stabbing a police K-9.
All of that was shown during a news conference at Grand Rapids Police headquarters. WOOD Radio's media partner, WOOD-TV 8, livestreamed the media briefing.
Interim police chief Joe Trigg said a tactical team was called in to try to talk Deans out of the out of the home. A camera-mounted drone was launched while police established a perimeter around the house.
"They were on scene for this incident for about an hour before the suspect fled out the front door," Trigg said. "When a subject is contained to a residence, it's very easy to take things slow, get all the resources we can from negotiators, any other special resources that we might need. But once you take flight into the neighborhood armed with knives, it kind of changes the scenario a bit."
During the alleged carjacking attempt, a man is seen jumping over a fence and trying to get inside an SUV. The driver got out quickly and screamed. Police said Deans got out of the vehicle and took off running.
The K9 officer Digo went after him and was stabbed repeatedly. The video showed wounds to the dog's head. Police say the dog will recover fully, because his protective vest spared him from more serious injuries.
Trigg said Deans eventually tried to break into a home on Widdicomb Avenue. And when officers confronted him there, Deans allegedly charged at them with a knife and was shot dead. An officer's bodycam video shows the moment when the suspect move toward police with the knife in hand.
"In that backyard alone, you had a total of six officers," Trigg said. "I think five of them were sergeants, and three of them were armed with less-lethal options."
Those projectiles can come from 40-millimeter launchers, which are devices that fire impact rounds like condensed sponge/foam tips or wood dowels. They deliver a blunt-force trauma to temporarily incapacitate a person without penetrating the skin.
Interim Chief Trigg said it was a "tragic incident for all involved."
The Michigan State Police are handling the investigation, which will entail looking at the evidence collected from the incident and filing a report on whether the officer-involved shooting was justified. The officer who fired the gunshots was placed on standard administrative leave until the investigation ends.
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