COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Kalamazoo County man is in custody after leading police on a chase and then ramming multiple sheriff’s cruisers trying to escape.
The chase began at about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday when Kalamazoo deputies found a vehicle that had fled from Michigan State Police in the city a short time earlier. Deputies tried to stop the vehicle near N. 30th Street and East H Avenue in Comstock Township, but the driver sped away at speeds reaching 80 mph.
“The situation became more dangerous due to this person’s actions the entire time and they took it to another level and that’s why the deputies had to change their tactics along the way,” Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said.
Deputies used stop sticks to flatten the vehicle’s front two tires. The driver then turned westbound onto East D Avenue from 28th Street and intentionally ran into a deputy’s cruiser.
“Often overlooked is the fact that this is a very dangerous job for law enforcement and we have families we love going home to,” Fuller said.
The driver then ran into three other cruisers trying to escape, according to deputies.
“It was a lengthy chase,” Fuller said. “The benefit to the time at night was there was a little bit of traffic, not much and where it was, there’s benefits of not normally having a lot of traffic there anyway.”
During the collisions, one deputy fired a shot at the driver, who then stopped and surrendered to deputies.
Jail records identify the suspect as 53-year-old Robert Brockman of Comstock Township. He was not hit by the gunfire, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
“Their concern for the suspect was there all along,” Fuller said. “When they have the person out of the vehicle, they’re checking him. They’re asking if he was hit. They’re asking if he is injured. They’re asking if he needed medical attention.”
Brockman is being held at the Kalamazoo County Jail on charges of fleeing and eluding, felonious assault and malicious destruction of police property.
