State police investigate use of deadly force in Cadillac

Jordan Travis, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·1 min read

Aug. 16—CADILLAC — Michigan State Police are investigating the death of a machete-wielding man who was shot and killed by police after he charged an officer, according to the Cadillac Police Department.

Cadillac Police said they initially responded to a call Saturday of a person with a machete trying to break and enter a house on Aldrich Street.

An officer arrived and learned from a person inside the residence that the suspect, a 49-year-old man, was still nearby and banging on the house with the blade, according to the police report.

The officer found the man in an adjacent backyard holding the machete to a dog's throat. After the officer shouted some commands, the man charged at him with the machete. That's when the officer shot him, the report states.

Police administered CPR and other aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer who fired the gun is on administrative leave, per department protocol.

State police are investigating the shooting at the department's request, according to state police Lt. Derrick Carroll said.

Carroll referred further questions about the incident to the Cadillac police.

Hope Thomson, the Cadillac Public Safety Office manager, said the police department is planning a press conference, but had not yet set a date for that, as of Tuesday afternoon.

Until that press conference, according to Thomson, department officials will have no further comment beyond what has been stated in the press release.