A Michigan state trooper was charged with murder Wednesday in connection to the October death of a 15-year-old ATV driver.
A Michigan state trooper was charged with murder Wednesday in connection to the August death of a 15-year-old ATV driver.
Trooper Mark Bessner allegedly fired his Taser at the teen, who subsequently crashed his ATV and died.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Bessner with second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, The Detroit News reported.
He is facing life in prison.
The victim, Damon Grimes, was illegally driving his ATV in the street when Bessner fired his Taser at him from the passenger side of amoving vehicle—causing Grimes to ram into a parked truck. He died from blunt-force head trauma.
Wayne Country Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she decided to charge Bessner with second-degree murder because “he created a very high risk of death,” The Detroit News reported.
“We will not shirk from tough cases. It’s always tough when you investigate officers, but it is what it is,” Worthy said, according to the report.
She acknowledged that Bessner might not have intended to kill Grimes, but that it didn’t affect her decision to levy charges.
“He may not have meant to kill him, but that doesn’t matter. The classic law school test is, if you’re on top of a tall building, and you drop a safe down, you may not have intended to kill, but you created a high risk of death,” she said.
Bessner was suspended for deploying his stun gun from inside a moving vehicle—a violation of department policy—and later resigned.
“On behalf of the Michigan State Police, I offer my sincerest apologies to the family of Damon Grimes,” Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the Michigan State Police said in a statement.
“Troopers are not trained to do what Bessner did, and we condemn his actions. His conduct was criminal in nature and deserving of the charges today authorized by Prosecutor Kim Worthy. Neither my apology nor these criminal charges will bring Damon back, but I hope they provide some amount of solace to his family.”
The family has filed a $50 million lawsuit against Bessner.
