File Photo | MLive.comDaniel Vasta
JACKSON COUNTY, MI -- Jackson County Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka has found seven Jackson County officers justified in shooting and injuring a man after a standoff in March.
The suspect, 33-year-old Brandon Nodine, of Cement City, was shot seven times after pointing a handgun -- which was later found to be fake -- at several Jackson County officers on March 5, officials said.
RELATED: State police investigating officer-involved shooting in Jackson County
In a letter released Thursday, July 21, Jarzynka said the seven officers involved in this incident were justified in using deadly force.
“Based upon a review of the facts and the law, it is clear that Brandon Nodine presented an immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to the officers at the time,” Jarzynka said. “The officers had an honest and reasonable belief that Brandon Nodine was armed with a handgun and probable cause to believe he had committed a domestic assault.”
The seven officers who fired their weapons that day are MSP troopers Will Grakul and Nicholas Radke of the Michigan State Police Jackson Post; deputies David Noble, Jasper Mercure and Breanne Tucker from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office; and officers Ryan Martin and Chandler Fryt from the Blackman-Leoni Department of Public Safety.
All were placed on administrative leave per their departments’ policies after the shooting.
Officials from the three departments could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Details outlined in an investigative report from Michigan State Police indicate Nodine was under the influence of drugs when he led police on a vehicle chase that ended in an hour-long standoff.
At about 1:33 a.m. March 5, two Blackman-Leoni officers were dispatched to a domestic assault complaint near Meijer, 3333 E. Michigan Ave., in Jackson, officials said.
After identifying Nodine as a suspect and searching the area for about an hour, officers found him asleep in the driver’s seat of a pickup behind a nearby house, police said. It was later determined that the truck had been stolen.
Officers woke Nodine up, though he would not open the door and get out of the vehicle, officials said. Instead, he started the truck and fled the scene, leading to a pursuit.
After two deputies joined in the pursuit, Nodine stopped his truck near Ayers Road, got out and brandished a handgun at police, officials said. Nodine returned to his vehicle and fled to the area of Draper Road and Crouch Road, at which point the truck became disabled, officials said.
Nodine then tried to flee on foot. Using a K-9 unit, police tracked and found him in an SUV parked in a nearby driveway, police said.
Police set up a perimeter around the SUV, while an officer began talking to Nodine in an attempt to negotiate and de-escalate the situation, officials said.
The officer spoke with Nodine for about an hour, during which time Nodine pointed his gun at his own head, giving officers the impression he might shoot himself, officials said.
At about 4:30 a.m., Nodine moved to the back seat of the SUV, and then pointed the handgun at the officers. Tucker shouted, “He’s pointing the gun,” followed by Noble yelling “Gun’s pointed.” The seven officers then opened fire.
The shooting stopped about seven seconds later. The MSP investigation revealed that 78 rounds were fired during that time, with Nodine being hit seven times, including three wounds to his right leg, three to his right wrist and one in his right shoulder, officials said.
None of Nodine’s wounds were life-threatening, and he was taken by ambulance to Henry Ford Jackson Hospital.
Police secured the scene, and soon found the handgun to be fake, officials said.
“Given all the corroborating evidence found and revealed in this investigation, it is my opinion that the seven police officers were justified in discharging their service weapons to protect their own life and the lives of their fellow officers present that night,” Jarzynka said.
The next day, Nodine was interviewed at the hospital, telling police he did not remember much of the incident because he had ingested powdered heroin and injected methamphetamine prior to officers arriving on scene, officials said.
Nodine denied any knowledge of the pickup he was driving being stolen, and claimed he did not have a fake handgun, officials said.
Nodine was arraigned in 12th District Court on March 25, and currently faces charges of fourth-degree fleeing an officer, assaulting/resisting/obstructing police and second-offense domestic violence, according to court records.
After waiving his right to a preliminary exam, Nodine was bound over to circuit court on April 22, records show. He is set to appear before Judge Susan Jordan for a pretrial hearing on July 29.
More from the Jackson Citizen Patriot:
$10K grant to Michigan college aims to attract more first-time college students
Millage renewal to support public transportation in Jackson going before city voters
Police services millage going before Sandstone Township voters in August
Repairs will close northern Jackson County road
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