KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — According to police reports released Monday, suspected mass-murderer Jason Dalton initially refused to talk, but after being told about the wounding of 14-year-old Abigail Kopf, he showed some remorse for the first time and claimed he had been taken over by the Uber app on his phone.
In the report written by Kalamazoo Public Safety Detective Bill Moorian, Dalton told detectives the app was controlling him like an “artificial intelligence.” He said it the app changed from red to black, and that’s when it took over.
He said the Uber symbol looked like a horned cow or the devil, and that it changed back to red as he was pulled over. He felt released at that point, and that’s why he didn’t struggle when he was arrested.
He had just recently begun driving for the on-demand ride-sharing service, and drivers take their direction and pick-up passengers as they are directed by Uber. Dalton continued to pick up and deliver passengers through the night. None of them were targeted, but random victims he ran into along the way ended up dead or wounded.
He told police he didn’t remember the shootings or aiming at anyone, but did remember the sound of the gun going off. He told investigators that he was aware that he had killed, but he didn’t consider himself to be a killer. He said the app had overtaken his body.
That is apparently why he is currently undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. Dalton has no known history of mental illness and it’s not clear if investigators believe his story.
His wife knew something was wrong the last time she saw him shortly after the first shooting in Richland that left 25-year-old Tiana Carruthers wounded. He wanted to swap his Chevrolet Equinox, which was damaged in what police say was a hit and run crash when he was fleeing from the first shooting, for the Chevrolet HHR.
That distinctive vehicle was used to pick up Uber calls and transport him to the final two shootings at the dealership on Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo and at the Cracker Barrel in Texas Township.
The report says Dalton gave his wife a gun and told her not to go to work and to keep the kids home from school. That she would find out why from the news.
Police recovered a nine-millimeter handgun from his pocket with an extended clip from his car. Dalton was also wearing a bulletproof vest that belonged to his son.
They also recovered shells at the shooting scenes and, from the vehicle’s interior, at least one of the two vehicles he used that night.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department also released the dashcam video of the traffic stop that resulted in Dalton’s uneventful arrest. You can hear Sgt. James Harrison demand that Dalton stick his hands out the window where they could be seen. He then approaches the vehicle, removes Dalton and handcuffs him, bringing him back to his cruiser.
The scene is immediately flooded by officers from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety who were called to join in the felony stop.
Dalton’s court hearings have been pushed back until his mental examination is complete and its determined whether he can understand the charges and aid in his defense.
