Judge tosses evidence, says man shot by police at E.L. store 'indicative of racial profiling'

LANSING − A man who was shot by police outside an East Lansing store and was charged with various crimes in connection with the incident scored a legal victory Thursday when a judge ruled officers didn't have adequate grounds to stop and search him.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina granted a motion to suppress evidence against DeAnthony VanAtten, ruling the officers violated his Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure.

"I think this is a close call, but it's also indicative of racial profiling," Aquilina said. "I don't believe that the law was followed as it should be ... He was simply a young Black man with a face mask in a Meijers."

The judge said the officers didn't see VanAtten commit a crime and didn't have enough information to believe he was going to do so, despite a 911 caller's report that someone matching VanAtten's description had run into the store with a gun. Police should have done more work to verify the tip, the judge said.

The practical impact of the ruling was unclear. Aquilina indicated she might be willing to reconsider and suggested the issue might go to the state Court of Appeals.

A spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office, which brought the charges against VanAtten, said in an email the office is reviewing the ruling and "considering our options, which include appealing the decision to the Court of Appeals or filing a motion for reconsideration, as noted by the judge."

The Ingham County Public Defender's office, which represents VanAtten, did not immediately respond to a message left by the State Journal on Thursday.

VanAtten, 21, was shot by police in the parking lot of the Meijer store on Lake Lansing Road in April 2022 after someone called 911 to report seeing a masked man grab a gun from a car and run into the store.

Officers chased VanAtten in the parking lot after he disregarded their instructions to stop. Two officers fired a total of eight rounds after one of them saw VanAtten with a handgun that was later found beneath a parked car. VanAtten's fingerprints were found on the weapon, police said.

VanAtten was hit by two of the bullets but recovered.

Nessel later cleared the officers of any wrongdoing and charged VanAtten with seven felony counts and one misdemeanor count.

The felony charges include four counts of assaulting or obstructing police and one count each of carrying a concealed weapon, receiving and concealing a stolen firearm and felony firearm possession. He also was charged with one count of third-degree retail fraud, a misdemeanor.

Stephen Milks, an assistant Ingham County public defender, asked Aquilina to suppress evidence obtained in what he called an illegal search and seizure, saying officers were acting on an anonymous tip they hadn't properly verified. VanAtten hadn't committed any crime, and the sole justification for the stop was that he disobeyed officers' commands to stop and ran from them, the attorney said.

The AG's office argued that the officers had a detailed description of the suspect from the 911 caller and had probable cause to stop VanAtten, given the "totality of the circumstances." Their suspicions were only heightened when he refused their commands to stop and ran from them, prosecutors said.

Courts have held that officers can briefly detain someone for further investigation if they have reason to believe a crime was committed, the AG said.

"Working this case backwards, it's very clear the officers got it right," Aquilina said, "(but) I have to look at the beginning of this."

The judge said the thought of someone with a gun at a Meijer store "scares me." But police didn't properly verify the information from the 911 caller, she said.

"I think this case falls in the gray, and I don't like gray," she said.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Judge says East Lansing police racially profiled man they shot