DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Police officer who fired at a teenager who was running away from police has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated with Michigan State Police as the lead agency.
Thursday evening, near Chatham and Fenkell Avenue on Detroit's west side, two Detroit Police officers stopped the 16-year-old to investigate him on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon.
The teen tried to get away and during the foot pursuit, a Detroit Police officer fired at the teen. The bullet grazed him in the leg.
Watch Detroit Police Chief James White brief the media on the shooting:
Thursday night, police said their ShotSpotter technology, which can detect the location of gunfire and even how many shooters are involved, detected two gunshots.
Police said they were trying to determine if the teenage suspect fired the first shot.
On recorded police radio traffic, a police official or someone in dispatch can be heard asking the officers involved if the shots were fired at police or by the police.
One officer replied, "Shots fired by police." He then requested EMS be dispatched to their location.
Cawthon Brown, who lives nearby, questioned why police weren't able to quickly determine, using ShotSpotter, if the officer was the only one who fired a weapon.
"They can use the same ShotSpotter to say which shot came first because you can hear it. If you hear a double shot, they would have heard it," Brown said.
Late Friday afternoon, Detroit Police released a statement, confirming that it was indeed one officer who fired the two shots and detailing why the officer opened fire.
"As the officers began their investigation, the subject broke away and fled on foot from the officers. Two officers, including the officer involved in the shooting, then pursued the subject on foot," the police statement read.
The statement continued, "The subject was armed and the involved officer made several commands to the subject telling him to drop the weapon. While fleeing from the officers, the subject appears to blade his body towards the officers with the weapon in his left hand. We have been able to confirm the involved officer fired two shots. One of the shots grazed the suspect."
Police said they recovered the teen's weapon, a 9mm firearm that was reported stolen out of Dearborn Heights in 2022.
The teen appeared in juvenile court Friday afternoon where he was charged with Receiving and Concealing a Firearm and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
A juvenile court referee set the teen's bond at $3,000/10%.
The teen lives with his father not far from the shooting location.
Court officials said the teen does not appear to have any prior criminal issues.
