GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The now-retired state police Sergeant charged with murder is asking a federal judge to drop the case against him.
Brian Keely filed a motion Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, moving to have the charges dropped. Keely's attorney cited the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, claiming it provides immunity for federal officers while they perform their official duties.
The then-Detective Sergeant was part of a federal task force that was tracking Samuel Sterling on April 17 in Kentwood. Sterling died from injuries he suffered when the vehicle Keely was driving hit him.
SEE MORE: FOX 17 obtains surveillance video showing unmarked police car hit man running from arrest
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed charges of second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter against Keely on May 28. Those charges were filed in state court, but Keely's lawyer filed a motion in federal court, hoping to move the case there.
A federal judge eventually agreed with Keely's argument, moving the case to federal court on August 26.
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REPORT: Brian Keely's written statement, witness accounts of Sterling death
To back up his claim of immunity, Keely's attorney filed a sworn statement by the Supervisor of the U.S. Marshals Service's Task Force. That Supervisor, in his written statement, says Keely was deputized as a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal on December 13, 2023. That deputization is not scheduled to expire until the end of 2026.
The Supervisor went on to say that Keely acting in his capacity as a federal agent when he ran into Sterling.
If the case is not dismissed, the trial for Keely is scheduled to begin in April 2025.
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