KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — Kalamazoo Prosecutor Jeff Getting says the officers who shot and killed Sean Pelletier and wounded his brother Aaron last May were justified in opening fire.
It came as no surprise. There was never any question about what happened that day. Internal department reviews had long since determined that the use of deadly force in this case did not violate any departmental policies and the 6 officers have all been cleared to resume normal duties.
The shooting followed a lengthy high speed chase that ended with the Pelletier brothers boxed into an apartment complex on the West Side of Portage.
Getting says as soon as Pelletier pulled the AK-47 out into view, officers opened fire before he had a chance to get off a round.
Holding up the AK-47 at a news conference, Getting said “when a semi-automatic rifle like this is brought out of the vehicle, there is nothing to do but respond with immediate deadly force, which is what the officers did”.
Getting says the rifle was loaded with armor piercing shells that could have penetrated the vests the officers were wearing.
There were also several additional cartridges for the rifle and a 9-mm pistol with several loaded magazines in the car as well.
The chase and the gunfight occurred because police were reluctant to enforce an eviction notice on four of the Pelletier siblings, knowing that their home in Portage contained an arsenal and that threats had been made that they were prepared to defend it.
That’s why police attempted to arrest the pair away from the home.
It ended in a way officers were trying to avoid, with the need for deadly force.
Six different officers opened fire, expending 45-rounds, ten of which hit Sean Pelletier. It’s not clear how many hit his brother.
Aaron Pelletier, who was driving the car on the day of the chase, has since recovered from his wounds and State Police are reportedly preparing a request for charges.
The original eviction had been initiated by their mother, who wanted her four children, now grown adults, of the house she owned.
The two Pelletier sisters would be arrested a few weeks later after gunfire was heard near the property and tear gas was deployed.
Police found over two dozen guns in the home.
