JACKSON, MI - Authorities have announced that a man has been arrested and charged for his connection to a traffic stop shooting that left a Capitol Police K-9 injured.
According to reports, the incident happened on Thursday, April 10th, in the area of Interstate 55 south in Jackson, Mississippi. The suspect, since identified as 31-year-old Demontez Anderson has been charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, and injuring a public service animal.
Anderson was arrested one day after the incident, on Friday, April 11th. Bailey Martin, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, issued a press release stating that a Capitol Police officer conducted a traffic stop Thursday on a vehicle on McDowell Road. The incident happened at approximately 1:14 p.m.
Martin said that during the traffic stop, an unrelated vehicle approached and opened fire on the officer. The officer fired his weapon and struck the suspect, who then fled the scene. According to Martin, Anderson stopped at a nearby gas station on Gallatin Street and was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Martin wrote, "A K-9 inside the officer's patrol vehicle was also struck during the incident. The extent of the K-9's injuries is unknown at this time. The Capitol Police officer was not seriously physically injured." On Friday, around 7:30 a.m., Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell confirmed that the K-9 is expected to make a full recovery.
Tindell said, "After an overnight stay at the vet, it was determined the K-9 was not shot but was injured by shrapnel after a bullet struck a metal component inside the officer's vehicle. Please continue to keep both the officer and our K-9 in your thoughts and prayers as they recover."
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting. The bureau's findings will be shared with the Mississippi Attorney General's Office.
In a separate incident, the Michigan State Police (MSP) have identified the man who was fatally shot during an officer-involved shooting on April 6th. According to WLNS, 27-year-old Joel Cothern was walking the wrong way along US-127 near Barnes Road in Vevay Township. The Ingham County Sheriff's Office (ICSO) said officers approached Cothern, reporting that he was "non-compliant."
Sooner after being confronter, police said Cothern pulled out "multiple knives." Police attempted to de-escalate the situation for several minutes, however, at an unreported time during those efforts, Cothern was shot by police.
ICSO Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth said that Cothern was not handcuffed when he was shot, defending the deputies' actions after released bodycam footage. He said, "To be clear, the subject was not handcuffed prior to the shooting. As a matter of fact, we never even touched the suspect until after force was used."
He said that the officers first deployed a taser, but it was ineffective, adding, "Law enforcement officers made decisions based on the totality of their circumstances, not a two-dimensional video that captures ten seconds of a 13 plus minute encounter."
According to reports, the incident happened on Thursday, April 10th, in the area of Interstate 55 south in Jackson, Mississippi. The suspect, since identified as 31-year-old Demontez Anderson has been charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, and injuring a public service animal.
Anderson was arrested one day after the incident, on Friday, April 11th. Bailey Martin, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, issued a press release stating that a Capitol Police officer conducted a traffic stop Thursday on a vehicle on McDowell Road. The incident happened at approximately 1:14 p.m.
Martin said that during the traffic stop, an unrelated vehicle approached and opened fire on the officer. The officer fired his weapon and struck the suspect, who then fled the scene. According to Martin, Anderson stopped at a nearby gas station on Gallatin Street and was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Martin wrote, "A K-9 inside the officer's patrol vehicle was also struck during the incident. The extent of the K-9's injuries is unknown at this time. The Capitol Police officer was not seriously physically injured." On Friday, around 7:30 a.m., Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell confirmed that the K-9 is expected to make a full recovery.
Tindell said, "After an overnight stay at the vet, it was determined the K-9 was not shot but was injured by shrapnel after a bullet struck a metal component inside the officer's vehicle. Please continue to keep both the officer and our K-9 in your thoughts and prayers as they recover."
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting. The bureau's findings will be shared with the Mississippi Attorney General's Office.
In a separate incident, the Michigan State Police (MSP) have identified the man who was fatally shot during an officer-involved shooting on April 6th. According to WLNS, 27-year-old Joel Cothern was walking the wrong way along US-127 near Barnes Road in Vevay Township. The Ingham County Sheriff's Office (ICSO) said officers approached Cothern, reporting that he was "non-compliant."
Sooner after being confronter, police said Cothern pulled out "multiple knives." Police attempted to de-escalate the situation for several minutes, however, at an unreported time during those efforts, Cothern was shot by police.
ICSO Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth said that Cothern was not handcuffed when he was shot, defending the deputies' actions after released bodycam footage. He said, "To be clear, the subject was not handcuffed prior to the shooting. As a matter of fact, we never even touched the suspect until after force was used."
He said that the officers first deployed a taser, but it was ineffective, adding, "Law enforcement officers made decisions based on the totality of their circumstances, not a two-dimensional video that captures ten seconds of a 13 plus minute encounter."
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