Michigan officer acted in defense of others when fatally shooting man during bank standoff, state says
A Michigan State Police officer who fatally shot a man during a bank standoff in Saginaw Township in June acted in defense of others, the Department of Attorney General said Friday, and will not be charged by the state agency.
The shooting happened during the evening of June 27. The attorney general's office said Quentin Marquese Allen, 31, entered the Mercantile Bank on State Street and demanded money from a woman who was the only employee in the building.
She had been on the phone with an individual when Allen entered the bank. That individual hung up and called 911 to report a robbery in progress, officials said. Responding officers saw Allen holding the woman inside the bank and called Michigan State Police for help.
A hostage negotiator spoke with Allen for 2 hours and 40 minutes. According to the attorney general's office, Allen barricaded the bank and made demands for money and food during that time. Officials said he threatened to hurt the woman if his demands weren't met.
Toward the end of the standoff, a drone was deployed by law enforcement to deliver a soda and chips to Allen, officials said. He opened the door to the bank while using the woman as a shield to retrieve the items. At one point, the woman then lowered her head, and MSP Officer Richard Kearns, who was around 115 yards away on the roof of an auto store, shot and killed Allen, according to the attorney's office.
"Officer Kearns could see from his vantage point that the hostage was clearly seen in distress," Assistant Attorney General Erika Tusar said in a memo regarding the incident.
Attorneys at the Department of Attorney General reviewed police reports, witness statements, surveillance video, phone calls and messages, and concluded the shooting was a "justified exercise of defense of others."