Witness: Michigan man fatally shot by police had BB gun

WOOD-TV

Beaver Township, Mich. – The uncle of a man fatally shot by Michigan State Police on Saturday said his nephew grabbed a BB gun as an officer moved toward him.

In an interview with WOOD-TV, Harry Pulsipher Sr. said he lived on the Beaver Township property with his ex-wife and his nephew, whom he identified as Johnny Owen King. He said police were called to the mobile home Saturday morning because of a dispute between his ex-wife and King.

“He says I’m not leaving my house and the cop started towards him and he reached up, he had a little BB gun up there, he grabbed that BB gun and he brought it down,” Pulsipher said. “That’s when the guy shot him, he didn’t point it at nobody, he just brought it down off the thing.”

State police said they were responding to a domestic dispute in the rural area of Newaygo County, roughly 60 miles north of Grand Rapids, when troopers “were confronted by an armed subject which resulted in him being shot.” They said the subject was declared dead despite life-saving efforts.

State police couldn’t confirm the identity of the man who was killed because of the ongoing investigation, WOOD-TV reported. They could not be reached for comment Sunday and didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message.

Officials in a neighboring Michigan State Police district are investigating the shooting.