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WORTHY
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
COUNTY OF WAYNE
OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Press Release
December 21, 2016
Eight Pages
Facts
On December 23, 2015 at 12:50 a.m., two Dearborn police officers were dispatched to a gas
station at Tireman and Greenfield for customer disturbance.
Kevin Matthews was harassing a female store clerk for an extended period of time to let him
have a Redbull for free because he did not have enough money. Later, he concealed a
Redbull in his pocket and she confronted him about it. She repeatedly asked him to put it
back and leave. Mr. Matthews became loud, agitated and hostile, and tried to start a
physical fight with an older male customer who attempted to intervene. The clerk then
locked Mr. Matthews in the store and called the police.
Upon arrival, Dearborn police officers asked Mr. Matthews to step outside the gas station.
Instead he fled from the scene on foot. Despite their efforts, they were unable to locate him
again that night.
On December 23, 2015 at 12:24 p.m., while conducting an unrelated traffic stop in full
uniform, in a marked scout car, a Dearborn police officer observed Mr. Matthews walking
north on Greenfield near Tireman. The officer was aware of the incident on the prior shift,
as well as an outstanding misdemeanor probation violation warrant for Mr. Matthews. The
officer completed his traffic stop, drove to Whitcomb, and advised dispatch that he would be
attempting to make contact with a suspect at Tireman and Whitcomb.
-more-
The scout car audio and video of the preceding traffic stop were reviewed. The male
motorist from the traffic stop was also interviewed. When Mr. Matthews walked past the
area of the traffic stop, the officer pointed him out to the motorist during the traffic stop and
said that he had to go arrest Mr. Matthews because he ran from officers the night before.
The officer also told the motorist that Matthews had never run from him before.
The officer drove onto Whitcomb to a point just north of Tireman, crossing into Detroit. He
parked and exited his vehicle, and told Mr. Matthews to stop where he was. The officer was
61 tall and weighed 220 pounds. Mr. Matthews was 35 years old, 55 tall and weighed
approximately 155 pounds.
Mr. Matthews ran and the officer pursued him on foot, yelling, Stop - Police. The officer
chased Mr. Matthews northbound on the west side of the street and then across Whitcomb
to the east side of the street, where they ran up a driveway at 8800 block of Whitcomb. The
officer and Mr. Matthews then climbed over a chain link fence into the backyard in the 8800
block of Whitcomb where the shooting took place.
Interviews with five civilian witnesses, the physical evidence and statements from other
police officers that arrived at the scene after the shooting show that Mr. Matthews and the
Dearborn police officer engaged in an intense struggle that started in the grass near the
fence line. The struggle continued around the grass area, along the rear of the house, onto
the paved driveway and up against a wood gate and garage door. The struggle ended in
the driveway when Mr. Matthews, while standing over the officer, pulled the ammunition
magazine from the officers duty belt, which was positioned next to his firearm. The officer,
still on his back, fired nine shots from his weapon which struck and killed Mr. Matthews.
Other Injuries
The report also documents three abrasions to Mr. Matthews left forehead.
Independent Autopsy
Mr. Matthews family retained Dr. Bader Cassin to perform an independent autopsy. His
report is dated February 6, 2016.
The independent report contains nothing that appears to be inconsistent with the WCMEO
report. Dr. Cassin does detail a contusion and several more abrasions than specified in the
WCMEO report. These provide further corroboration that there was an intense struggle
prior to the shooting.
-more-
-more-
of threatening to burn her house down, being responsible for a fire at her home after the
threat, and shooting her house up approximately two-three weeks after the fire. There is no
indication of any warrant requests arising out of these incidents.
Conclusion
It is clear that there was a chase and then a brief but intense struggle between Matthews
and the officer. Items were torn from his uniform, duty belt, and person, and strewn
throughout the backyard and driveway. The bodies of the two men slammed into the house
and garage door, and caused damage to the siding of the home, and overturned and broke
items in the driveway area. At various times during this struggle, Mr. Matthews broke free
from the officers control, gained possession of his self-defense spray, ammunition
magazines, and most importantly, struggled for control of his weapon as he lay on his back
in the driveway. For these reasons, the officer certainly had a legitimate fear that Mr.
Matthews would gain control of his weapon, and use it to harm him and make good his
escape.
The facts and evidence in this case support the justification of the shooting under the law of
self defense in Michigan. Particularly important is the lack of proof to overcome self
defense. The argument that the officer was honestly and reasonably in fear of death or
great bodily harm, is directly supported by the law and evidence in the case.
There is insufficient evidence to criminally charge the Dearborn officer because the facts
and the applicable laws do not support charges that can be proven beyond a reasonable
doubt.
-more-
Prosecutor Worthy said, Our goal is to make sure that we make just decisions according to
the applicable law. These decisions were particularly difficult and heart wrenching for all
parties involved, including me. We take our responsibility very seriously and both cases had
many issues to investigate. This added significant time to our ability to come to just
decisions. We interviewed numerous witnesses, reviewed reports, analyzed all the physical
evidence, police training materials, medical records, and consulted with multiple experts.
Thoroughness takes time.
After careful analysis we have concluded that we cannot prove the Matthews case beyond
a reasonable doubt because of the laws of self-defense. We also cannot prove the Wilson
case beyond a reasonable doubt because of the law of self defense, the law of defense of
others and the law regarding apprehension of a fleeing felon.
January 4, 2016
results, police
interviews, etc
reports,
medical
records,
witness
May 2 - 6, 2016
Medical records
EMS records
Video surveillance
Witness interviews
Police reports
Forensic map from audio/visual test
Scene sketch
Photos/ grid search results from return to
scene to search for additional evidence
Firearms analysis results
October 6, 2016
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