KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A Kalamazoo public safety officer announced his resignation after being placed on administrative leave for potential on-the-job violations.
MLive reports that the 23-year-old officer Jason VanDyken resigned from the department last week following a probe into policy violations that may have taken place during a service call in February.
Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas confirmed that the officer has resigned, but declined to comment on what violations were being investigated.
A Freedom of Information Act request of the police report filed by VanDyken shows his account of what happened during the service call on February 7th, where a 42-year-old Vicksburg man was hit by a passing car after exiting from his police cruiser.
The officer first made contact with the man, identified in the report as Scott Brock, around 2:03 a.m. at the 3200 block of Konkle Street. At the scene Brock was expressing his thoughts that he wanted to commit suicide and was requesting to be taken to jail so that he could calm down, claiming that he had outstanding warrants.
It was advised that Brock be taken to the Ascension Borgess psychiatric unit instead, where he could be released with hours if he desired to refuse treatment.
VanDyken was en route with the man on the way to Ascension Borgess Hospital when the passenger changed his mind, making aggressive verbal remarks toward the officer and at one point challenging him to a fight.
In his report VanDyken said that he felt it was unreasonable to transport the man to the hospital if he did not want to go and could potentially pose a danger, requesting that he leave the vehicle near the intersection of Gull Road and Rockingham Avenue.
In the FOIA request obtained by MLive, VanDyken said he told Brock that his options were “either Borgess or the side of Sprinkle Road due to the way he was acting.”
Minutes later Brock was struck by a car during a hit-and-run incident, resulting in a broken rib and pelvis that led him to be hospitalized for three weeks. The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash has still not been located by authorities.
Brock was found laying on Gull Road around 2:40 a.m. by deputy Erika Mejia. She wrote in another police report that the man said he was dropped off by an officer nearby and was unsure which direction he was walking or what type of vehicle had just hit him.
Brock later provided comment on the incident, saying that VanDyken’s report accurately portrayed the situation. He says that he has a long history of coping with mental illness, having been hospitalized four times for suicidal thoughts in the past. The night that he contacted law enforcement he says that he was drinking heavily and was thinking about killing himself.
The Kalamazoo Public Safety Department acknowledged earlier in April that VanDyken was being investigated for potential policy violations, but said that the investigation did not result from a citizen complaint.
VanDyken has worked for the department since 2018 and is the son of Kalamazoo County Undersheriff James VanDyken.
