KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Deputy will not face any charges after being cleared in a fatal December shooting, according to County Prosecutor Jeff Getting.
The incident report was released Wednesday, and refers to the shooting death of 38-year-old Daniel Russell on December 18, 2020.
Shortly before 7 a.m. on December 18, police were called to a residential home on Morningstar Way in Kalamazoo, and Deputy Michael Leeger was the first to respond.
The call came in to dispatchers about a suicidal person armed with a knife. The report says that call came from his mother and her partner, who were also stabbed with a kitchen knife.
While both were injured via stab wounds, they both survived.
Oshtemo Fire personnel arrived after Leeger, and the report says both fire personnel and neighbors were witnesses to the incident.
The report says Leeger saw Russel inflicting injuries to himself through the front window of the house. He tried to enter, but the door was blocked, and Russel exited the house shortly after while still carrying the knife.
Leeger repeatedly told Russel to drop the knife, but he ignored them, resulting in Leeger deploying a taser multiple times. According to the taser data, five charges were dispersed in 32 seconds.
However, despite falling to the ground, Russel overcame the taser charges, pulled out the probes and continued to advance toward Leeger.
Leeger then drew his gun, warning Russel he had done so, and continued to tell him to drop the knife. Russel ignored the commands and was shot three times as a result.
Despite lifesaving measures, Russel ultimately succumbed to his injuries. He suffered multiple self-inflicted stab wounds, but the gunshots were determined to be what killed him.
Both neighbors and fire personnel confirmed that Russel had been given multiple warnings to drop the knife, which were ignored.
Captain Michael Parker with the Oshtemo Fire Department had said he thought Leeger was going to shoot Russel sooner than he did, saying that he gave Russel “every option under the sun” and still disregarded them.
In reviewing background information about Russel, the investigation revealed that in the year leading up to this incident, Russel had been exhibiting a significant and ongoing mental health condition, according to the report.
Among his symptoms, Russel had been displaying delusions about the election, the COVID-19 pandemic and other social issues. In November 2020, police had been called to a separate incident. Following this, he was voluntarily placed at Pine Rest for two weeks.
He returned to his Morningstar home afterwards, during which he was taking prescribed medication.
On December 17, the day before the shooting incident, Russel’s mother said he was behaving erratically and not sleeping. Family members stated he believed he had contracted COVID-19, and that both he and his family members would die as a result.
Family members were concerned for his well-being, but not to the extent before he was placed in Pine Rest, the report says.
Deputy Leeger himself was the only officer involved in this incident, and has been employed by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. He is currently assigned to field operations, and has been since 1998.
The report says he has received extensive training during his career, including 17 in the use of force, 15 in de-escalation, and 3 in dealing with persons with mental and emotional illness.
Prosecutor Jeff Getting concluded that Leeger had reason to believe his life was in danger, and that his use of force was justified in this incident. He added that his actions likely saved his life and the lives of others.
“This is a tragic and unfortunate death,” Getting wrote in a statement. “Daniel was a great person who was struggling with mental illness in the last months of his life. That illness contributed to the events of December 18. However, it does not change the circumstances as they presented themselves to law enforcement that day.”
He continued,
“It is the opinion of the Prosecuting Attorney that Deputy Michael Leeger of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office acted in lawful self-defense of himself and others in his use of deadly force. The actions of Mr. Russell posed an immediate and extreme threat of death or serious injury to the deputy and others. The deputy’s belief that Mr. Russell posed an immediate threat was both honest and reasonable.”
No charges will be filed against Leeger as a result of this incident.
