Former MSP detective sgt. charged with murder in death of fleeing suspect
KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — A former Michigan State Police detective sergeant who is facing charges for hitting and killing a man with an unmarked cruiser during a foot chase in Kentwood appeared in court Wednesday.
Brian Keely was arraigned in 62nd-B District Court in Kentwood on second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Samuel Sterling. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Video shows man hit by unmarked MSP cruiser
The judge set a $250,000 personal recognizance bond.
Inside the courtroom, around 75 supporters of Keely sat on one side, while Sterling’s family sat on the other side. Around 50 people were sat in an adjacent courtroom before the arraignment.
“I learned a long time ago, situations like that he put himself in this situation. It’s unfortunate somebody died, accidents happen but I just really thought the charges were really to the extreme,” said Barry Bussell, a Keely supporter.
FAMILY ‘LOST FOR WORDS’ AT PR BOND
Andrica Cage, Sterling’s mother, said she was disappointed by the PR bond, which means Keely won’t have to put up any money to get out of police custody as his case works its way through the judicial system.
“Anybody that kills somebody basically is supposed to be in handcuffs and get charged. And he walked in as a free man and a free man back out the door,” Cage said.
“I’m surprised, just lost for words,” Michael Sterling, Sterling’s father, said. “I can’t believe they let him go on a personal recognizance bond for a murder charge.”
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“But I know this is just the beginning. It’s just the first step to get justice for my son,” Cage said.
She said she was so overwhelmed by emotions that she felt “numb.”
“I miss my son a whole lot. That was my baby so I miss him a whole lot,” Cage said. “You can’t bring him back. No matter how much we go through court, you can’t ever bring Samuel back. And I don’t wish that on nobody.”
“Keeping the faith in God that justice is going to be served,” Michael Sterling said.
Former Kent County Commissioner Robert S. Womack, who has been working with the Sterling family, called the PR bond a “travesty” and “insult to the family.”
“The judge considered his police record, his work ethic, the fact that he lives in Ottawa County even though his address is Grand Rapids, but she never took the gravity of the crime. He’s been charged with second-degree murder and he was patted on the wrist, out of here on a PR bond as a message to law enforcement that our lives don’t matter,” Womack said. “Samuel Sterling is a whole life that this man has taken from this family. And the court system, they need to recognize that.”
STERLING’S DEATH
On April 17, members of a metro Grand Rapids crime task force found Sterling, 25, a probation absconder who was wanted on felony warrants that police have not enumerated, at a gas station near the intersection of 52nd Street and Eastern Avenue in Kentwood. They say when they approached, Sterling ran away. Several officers chased him on foot into the parking lot of a nearby Burger King, as did Keely in the unmarked vehicle.
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Video previously released by MSP shows Sterling running away and then being hit by the unmarked cruiser on the sidewalk leading into the restaurant.
Sterling was hospitalized and died hours later. His death certificate shows he sustained “multiple blunt force injuries.”
Keely, who joined MSP in 1998, had been suspended without pay. However, MSP Lt. Michelle Robinson said Tuesday that Keely “elected to retire.” It’s unknown when he sent in the notice of retirement.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Keely could spend the rest of his life in prison. Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
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