Southgate — A Southgate police officer shot and killed a man in the Southgate Meijer parking lot on Fort Street on Saturday afternoon during a shoplifting investigation, the department’s chief said.
Police Chief Mark Mydlarz told the media on the scene Saturday afternoon that the man, 34, pulled some type of sharp object and advanced toward the officers during their investigation. An officer fired at least one shot, hitting the suspect, the chief said.
Officers gave the man aid on the scene before he was taken to a hospital, where he died, Mydlarz said.
No police officers were injured, the police chief said.
A 42-year-old woman who was with the man was taken into custody without incident, according to a Southgate Police Department press release. It was unclear what the woman’s relationship with the man was.
The shooting happened during the annual Downriver Cruise, widely known as the Fort Street Cruise, where people camp along the sides of Fort Street and surrounding areas to watch specialty cars and motorcycles drive by.
Mydlarz said the department had an increased presence because of the cruise and was able to respond quickly to the shoplifting call as a result.
“We had a lot of manpower in for that,” he said. “We were fortunate because we had all this manpower in that we were able to quickly contain this, get the investigation going.”
Mydlarz said at about 3:45 p.m., officers responded to a call of a shoplifting in progress. They attempted to stop two people, he said, a man and a woman.
The chief said the man pulled out the sharp object and “engaged our officers” before one officer fired a weapon. That officer will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is the department’s procedure, Mydlarz said.
Michigan State Police are leading the investigation. Officers from both departments cleared the scene around 8 p.m.
A witness, who declined to give his name, said he was set up with friends in the grassy area along the western side of the parking lot, ready to grill and watch the cars, when around 4 p.m. they saw two people, a man and a woman, leave the store carrying a few bags before they were chased by police. He said about five police vehicles suddenly arrived on the scene.
The police jumped out and stopped the pair, the witness said, adding that it appeared the man tried to flee the scene.
By the time they reached a sidewalk in the grassy area, a confrontation took place, the witness said. He said he was watching the police place the woman in handcuffs when the man was shot.
While the witness was looking at the woman, he heard a shot and looked back to see the man on the ground.
jpignolet@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Man shot, killed by police outside Southgate Meijer during shoplifting call
Reporting by Jennifer Pignolet, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Jennifer Pignolet, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
