WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) The police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man in Wyoming last September, the Kent County prosecutor has decided.
Prosecutor William Forsyth said Wyoming Officer Chad Wells had reason to believe that Sadiq Bishara-Abaker Idris posed a threat to his safety.
In the late afternoon of Sept. 7, the prosecutor said in the release, Idris stole a $699 Heckler & Koch .40-caliber handgun from Al & Bob’s Sports on S. Division Avenue, north of 32nd Street.
About an hour and a half later, he was spotted walking on 32nd Street, less than a mile from Al & Bob’s. A father and son recognized him from a police description and followed him in their vehicle, reporting his location to 911 dispatchers.
“Let me see your hands! Stop! Stop!” Wells can be heard ordering Idris in the dash cam video from his cruiser, which was released Tuesday.
Instead, the dash cam video shows, Idris pulled the gun from his back pocket and pointed it at Wells. Idris did not say anything. Wells drew his own sidearm, firing five shots and shooting Idris.
Wells took a knee as he fired and the father and son initially thought that Idris had shot him.
Wells, however, was not shot.
“Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired,” he can be heard reporting over his radio in the dash cam video. “Let me see your hands! Let me see your hands!” he shouted at Idris again.
Idris was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts to save him.An autopsy revealed he died of a single gunshot wound to the upper right chest. Toxicology tests didn’t show alcohol or drugs. The Kent County medical examiner said a “trace” amount of cocaine was detected in Idris’ system, but that it was not enough to have affected his behavior.
The gun Idris was holding was the one stolen from Al & Bob’s, the prosecutor said. It was not loaded.