BRANCH COUNTY, Mich. — The deputies who shot and killed a suspect in a double homicide case last summer have been ruled justified.
The Branch County Prosecutor announced the decision a day over nine months since the shooting outside the small town of Colon.
David Algarin was the suspect in a pair of deadly shootings in Sturgis from August 5. One day later, Sturgis public safety officers spotted Algarin as he was driving through the city. They and deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office gave chase.
Algarin sped through rural areas at speeds over 90 mph. According to the Branch County Prosecutor, attempts to disable the vehicle with stop sticks and a PIT maneuver were unsuccessful.
Investigators later determined the 30-year-old was on the phone with 911 dispatchers and relatives throughout the chase. Algarin told them he would not stop for police, telling his mother he would not go back to prison.
As the vehicle neared Colon on M-86 in Branch County, officers began to worry about crowds at the annual Magic Fest. Another PIT maneuver forced Algarin's vehicle into a nearby wheat field. Deputies then rammed their cruiser into his vehicle to prevent him from driving away.
As they moved to take him into custody, deputies say Algarin raised a gun he was holding in his lap. Two deputies opened fire, discharging at least 18 rounds, killing Algarin.
Michigan State Police investigated the shooting before the Branch County Prosecutor's Office reviewed the facts to make a decision on the deputies' actions.
Prosecutor Zachary Stempien called the situation "a tense, uncertain, rapidly evolving circumstance with no forceable end in sight."
"At the time of the shooting, Deputies were faced with an individual who had admitted to a homicide, fled from police at a high rate of speed, indicated very strongly that police would have to stop him because he was not going back to jail, and then lifted a firearm in the direction of the deputies. The evidence gathered on the scene, documented for review by [Michigan State Police], and observed by Prosecutor Stempien very clearly shows that Algarin was a credible and significant threat at the time of the shooting."
None of the deputies or officers involved in the pursuit will face any charges.
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