GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Lawyers for Brian Keely, the former Michigan State Police detective sergeant charged with the murder of Samuel Sterling, have requested that the case be moved to federal court.
On April 17 , Sterling, a 25-year-old from Grand Rapids who was a probation absconder and wanted on felony warrants, took off from authorities when they tracked him down in Kentwood. Several officers chased him on foot into the parking lot of a Burger King, as did Keely in an unmarked vehicle. Video previously released by MSP shows Sterling running away and then being hit by the unmarked cruiser on the sidewalk leading into the restaurant. Sterling was hospitalized and died hours later. His death certificate shows he sustained “multiple blunt force injuries.”
Video shows man hit by unmarked MSP cruiser
Murder charges were filed against Keely in May and he retired from MSP shortly thereafter.
The motion filed on Friday says that though Keely worked for MSP, he was assigned to a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force when the crash happened. It argues that puts the case in federal jurisdiction.