KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Kalamazoo has entered settlement talks with the family of a man killed by a public safety officer in January 2013.
Jacob Grassley, 34, was suspected of beating his girlfriend and, as far as officers knew, he was armed and dangerous. She was placed in protective custody at the Best Western on Cork Street.
What they didn’t know is that the two had been in contact and agreed to meet.
Grassley was shot as he tried to reach her at the hotel following a police chase.
This week, after a closed session at Kalamazoo City Hall, commissioners authorized the city attorney to agree to the settlement.
Details of the settlement were not immediately released.
The officer involved in the shooting was cleared because he thought the cell phone that Grassley was carrying was a gun.
– John McNeill





