KENTWOOD, Mich. — 25-year-old Samuel Sterling was killed during a chase with law enforcement that ended with Sterling getting hit by an unmarked Michigan State Police vehicle.
FOX 17 talked with Sterling's family Friday as they remember how their son lived — just two days after he died in the hospital.
"I watched him take his last breath," Michael Sterling, Samuel's father, said.
Andrica Cage, Saumel's mother, says a butterfly came to her front door and stayed there for more than an hour the day after her son died. She believes that's a sign that her son made it to Heaven.
"My baby made it. Can't nobody tell me he didn't make it to Heaven," Cage added.
Sterling's death has prompted his family to retain legal representation, according to former Kent County Commissioner and local activist Robert Womack.
“Ben Crump is officially their lawyer. He's using one of his local lawyers to work with them, and that’s going to help make sure that they get the information because they still have a whole lot of questions,” Womack said.
Cage says the loss of her son hurts deeply, adding that it's not right for a parent to have to bury their child — it should be the other way around.
Inside the family home, Cage watched music videos that her son had created. She said he was an aspiring singer, but his dream was cut short.
“They took my baby's dreams. They snatched my baby's whole life from him. That’s all I can say — his dreams, everything — he’ll never be able to come back home. I’ll never be able to hold him,” Cage added.
Samuel Sterling leaves behind two sons, ages two and three years old.
“This was not somebody that you needed to chase down and basically murder. This was somebody that would give you the shirt off their back,” Erykai Cage, Sterling's cousin, said.
Michigan State Police says its Fugitive Team was chasing Sterling because of active warrants, but his family says that should not have resulted in his death.
“It was senseless to me. They had no reason. For a couple little warrants?" Michael Sterling said.
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