Ex-MSP sgt details moments leading to deadly crash

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Michigan State Police detective sergeant charged with murder detailed the moments leading up to hitting a man with his cruiser, killing him, in a statement to detectives, police records show.

Brian Keely is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Samuel Sterling.

Looking to arrest Sterling , 25, of Grand Rapids, on a number of warrants, authorities tracked him to a Kentwood gas station on April 17 . Police say he ran away when they moved in to get him. Officers chased him on foot to a nearby Burger King while Keely pursued in an unmarked cruiser. Video released by MSP shows Sterling being hit by Keely’s SUV near the restaurant’s entrance. Sterling was hospitalized and died hours later.

In a statement to MSP, obtained as part of police reports by News 8 through a Freedom of Information Act request, Keely explained why he decided to follow Sterling in his car:

First, he said he would be able to use the radio to tell other officers Sterling’s location. Second, the emergency lights could warn drivers of the potential danger of Sterling and detectives running in and out of traffic. Third, he would be able to keep Sterling in his sight and keep up with him. Fourth, he would be able to help apprehend and handcuff Sterling. Last, Keely said he would be able to help search for Sterling if he were able to escape.

Keely went on to explain why he followed Sterling toward the entrance of the Burger King, where the crash happened. Keely said he believed that Sterling would run into the restaurant and put the lives of those inside at risk.

“My training and experience from over twelve years of fugitive work and the facts from the earlier briefing that Sterling is known to carry a weapon, made me instantly very concerned that if he were to gain access to the restaurant, innocent lives could be put at risk. I also know from my training and experience that encounters with fleeing, resisting dangerous felons are exponentially more difficult and dangerous in a confined area with civilians. For the safety of Sterling, my team and the public, my primary objective then became to get to the restaurant door before Sterling did,” Keely said in the statement.

It was later found that Sterling did not have a gun .

Keely said he drove in at an angle that he believed would block Sterling from getting into the restaurant. He said when Sterling ran in front of the vehicle, he immediately applied the brakes to try to avoid hitting him. However, Keely said his vehicle began to skid and he lost control of braking and steering power. He believed he hit the side of the building and did not know if he struck Sterling.

Descriptions of the crash from witnesses included in a 124-page MSP incident report vary. Other officers at the scene noted seeing Keely’s brake lights before the SUV hit Sterling; one officer said he “heard what sounded like D/Sgt. Keely’s vehicle braking hard on wet pavement.” Another agent reported his own vehicle had “traction control issues and he experienced his vehicle sliding.” However, one witness account who was waiting for food at the drive-thru told police she saw Keely “yank his wheel” toward Sterling before she heard the unmarked cruiser’s engine “revving up.”

Video from the Burger King showed Keely’s emergency lights were on during the chase, and includes audio of tires squealing, the MSP report says.

In his statement, Keely said that when he got out of his car after the crash, he saw several detectives trying to control Sterling, who was on his side, yelling and struggling to get free. Keely said he told detectives to call for medical help.

“Given the situation and a high likelihood of serious injury to Sterling, I told the detectives to call for medical and stop trying to handcuff him. A detective unknown to me stated we still don’t have control of his hands and he could be reaching for a gun. Sterling was still conscious, moving and yelling at this time and I did not see any signs of a visible, obvious injury such as cuts, blood or broken limbs,” Keely said in the statement.

Keely said he helped to handcuff Sterling, who he said still had the strength to make it hard to put him in handcuffs. After Sterling was in handcuffs and medical was called, Keely said he noticed the parking lot had standing puddles and remained very wet from the early morning rain. A check of the SUV later found “no issues” with the steering, braking, lighting and tires.

Sterling was hospitalized and died hours later.

MSP said its investigation indicated the SUV was slowing down before Sterling was hit and that it was going between 6 and 9 mph at the time of the collision. The air bags did not go off.

The MSP incident report says that in the weeks following the death, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office held a meeting with investigators in which they were asked about training regarding using vehicles during foot chases. A U.S. marshal told one investigator that “it is common for some officers to chase on foot while other officers use their vehicles to reposition into the path of the fleeing subject in order to slow them down/stop them.” The marshal listed eight such cases that he said happened recently in Grand Rapids.

Lawyers are arguing whether the murder case should be tried in state or federal court. In late August, U.S. District Court Judge Hala Jarbou decided that the case against Keely would be moved to federal court because he was acting as part of a federal task force when he hit Sterling. A trial has been scheduled to start April 21 in a federal courtroom in Lansing.

However, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office asked for the case to be sent back to state court . On Thursday, the AG filed a motion seeking a hearing on the matter, saying it is still investigating, but that “it is clear to the State of Michigan that Keely’s employment status at the relevant points in time is debatable.”

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