GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Township officials say they will review safety and staffing protocols after a fire lieutenant was attacked while working alone at a station over the weekend.
The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office announced just after 12:00 p.m. Monday that Robert Daniel-Brent Joppe would face felony charges for the incident.
Joppe has been charged with resisting and opposing an officer causing serious injury (up to 15 years in prison), assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder (up to 10 years), carrying a concealed weapon (up to 5 years), and resisting and opposing a police officer (up to 2 years).
“We're thankful for the people that showed up here,” Grand Rapids Township Supervisor Michael DeVries explained to FOX 17 Monday morning.
“They stopped an incident that could have been much more serious than it was.”
Kent
Fire lieutenant attacked by suicidal man with a gun, deputies say
It was just before 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 23, when the Kent County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a Lieutenant with the Grand Rapids Township Fire Department.
The Lieutenant had been working the East Beltline station alone, when 40-year-old Joppe, from Cedar Springs, showed up.
While entrances were locked, the Lieutenant believed Joppe was there to work on some concrete that was currently undergoing some upgrades.
“The floor in our base was being repaired,” DeVries said.
He explained that the Lieutenant “thought that it was someone from the concrete company to check on the concrete work”.
Investigators say Joppe was “suicidal, had consumed illicit drugs” and was armed with a firearm.
Once inside, he allegedly began attacking the Lieutenant.
By this point, the Lieutenant had requested an emergency response from the Sheriff’s Office.
Once Deputies arrived, they allegedly saw Joppe in the act of physically attacking the Lieutenant.
The Deputies were able to quickly restrain the man, taking him into custody.
As crews were wrapping up their response, Supervisor DeVries happened to drive by the station.
“I drove by and saw the the police here, so my wife and I stopped here,” DeVries explained.
“So, as they were driving away with the perpetrator.”
The Fire Lieutenant did sustain several injuries, and was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
Supervisor DeVries tells FOX 17 that that their staffing and safety protocols will be under review following the incident.
“This will be, we’ll review the situation entirely,” he said Monday.
Joppe was arraigned Monday afternoon. He appeared by video from what appeared to be a hospital bed.
Court documents filed by investigators say Joppe told the Lieutenant he was feeling suicidal, prompting the firefighter to ask if he was armed. That's when Joppe pulled a gun from his waistband, then threw it between to fire trucks. The Lieutenant grabbed the gun off the fire station floor.
Then Joppe became agitated, according to detectives. Eventually he lunged at the Lieutenant with the two of them struggling for control of the gun. The Lieutenant was able to throw the gun through the open garage bay door out on the grass.
The struggle struck a different chord then, with Joppe allegedly pushing against the Lieutenant's right eye with his thumb and biting the firefighter's arm.
The Lieutenant described the pain as though "his eye was being pushed into his brain cavity," according to court records.. His eye was damaged enough he began to see stars.
Despite the injuries, the Lieutenant was able to wrangle Joppe on the ground and hold him until deputies arrived.
Joppe was given a $50,000 bond. He's due back in court in December.
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