LANSING — A Lansing police officer is back on the job, more than a year after she and another officer were shot during a struggle with a man on the city’s south side.
Caitlin Markey endured three surgeries and “countless hours” of rehabilitation following the April 10, 2024, incident on West Holmes Road, Lansing police said May 8 in a social media posting. In all, three people suffered gunshot wounds, including the suspect and one other officer.
The other officer was less seriously injured and returned to work long ago, Lansing Police Public Information Officer Jordan Gulkis said.
“Officer Markey was shot while in the line of duty back in April of 2024, and what followed was hours and hours of incredibly hard work just to get back to a job she loves doing,” officials said on Facebook. “Nothing about her rehab was easy, but thankfully she’s used to hard work.”
Police released no details about her injuries, and it was unclear when she returned to work.
Andrial Ched Ortiz was indicted on a weapons charge in federal court in connection with the incident.
The indictment alleged Ortiz possessed two 9mm handguns on that day and fired one of them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said he repeatedly tried to steal weapons from Lansing officers while the officers were trying to arrest him.
Ortiz was charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of firearms. Court records indicate that case is still pending. There was no indication he’s been charged in Ingham County courts in connection with the West Holmes incident. The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office said it referred the case to the state Attorney General’s Office for a review of possible state court charges.
The incident began about 11:15 a.m. in the 2000 block of West Homes Road, just east of Simken Drive.
At the time, then-Lansing police Chief Ellery Sosebee said detectives went to the area of an apartment building for a follow-up investigation and asked for two uniformed officers to help make contact with the suspect. Ortiz was the focus on an investigation into a violent crime earlier that week, Sosebee said.
After a traffic stop, the man − later identified as Ortiz − ran away and was quickly caught, Sosebee said. But during the struggle, Ortiz disarmed one of the detectives and fired their weapon, striking two officers, the chief said at the time. One of the officers returned fire, striking the suspect, he said.
Lansing police released video clips from the incident about nine days later. A slide in the video says one patrol officer was shot and another suffered a grazing wound before a patrol officer fired a weapon. All three people who were shot, including Ortiz, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, they said.
Ortiz ran when police tried to arrest him, but they caught him and tackled him to the ground, according to the slides. While on the ground and as police tried to put handcuffs on him, the man told police they would have to kill him.
Ortiz in the video appears to reach for at least one law enforcement officer’s gun before an officer said she was going to use her stun gun on Ortiz. The officer hit him with the stun gun, but Ortiz continued to fight with detectives and an officer before one can be heard saying the suspect had a gun, followed by the sound of a gunshot.
A slide in the video says one patrol officer was shot and another suffered a grazing wound before a patrol officer fired their weapon.
Matt Mencarini contributed to this report. Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: A year later, Lansing police officer shot during struggle with suspect back on duty
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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