SAGINAW TWP, MI — Moments before he was shot and killed by a police officer, Farhad Jabbari was able to move his cuffed arms from behind his back to the front of his body as he was sitting in the back of a Saginaw Township police cruiser, said township Police Chief Donald Pussehl.
Alarmed, the officer who had pulled him over on suspicion of drunken driving called on his police radio for another officer to help put the cuffs properly back on the man, he said.
Police officials will not say in detail what happened next, when the two police officers attempted to recuff Jabbari Wednesday afternoon, July 19 — only that “an altercation” ended with Jabbari shot dead and one of the officers with a gunshot wound to his arm.
Chief Pussehl said an “altercation” took place before the shooting, but he would not further classify it as a scuffle, a fight, an argument or otherwise, citing the ongoing investigation by Michigan State Police.
“That’s an investigative matter,” the chief said.
Pussehl would not identify the officers who were involved, but did say each had been with the department about 10 years.
Michigan State Police Sgt. Duane Zook declined to say anything more until the department releases a formal statement Thursday afternoon, July 20.
What’s known is that the handcuffing ended with 38-year-old Jabbari shot dead — his lifeless body lying next to the police cruiser’s rear wheel in a stretch of grass between the sidewalk and roadway on Michigan Avenue near Leo Street.
Police have released the name of a motorist shot and killed during a traffic stop in Saginaw Township along with other information about the incident that sent two officers to the hospital – one with a gunshot wound.
In the process, an officer was shot, too, a single wound in arm above the elbow, Zook previously said.
The officer remained in the hospital in good condition, Thursday morning, Pussehl said. The other officer suffered lacerations on his face and eye, he said.
Police will not say whether Jabbari had a weapon, or if any weapons besides that of the officers’ were involved.
Pussehl said while the two officers did not have body cameras on them, he believes the officers’ in-cab and dash cameras were rolling during the incident. He would not release video from the cameras.
The department has six body cameras, all of which are in the testing stage, the chief added.
A police officer shot and killed a man after an altercation during a traffic stop in Saginaw Township in which another officer was also shot, according to Saginaw Township Police Chief Donald Pussehl.
Pussehl said Jabbari remained cuffed during the incident, but a video of his uncovered body circulating on Facebook showed Jabbari’s arms splayed, with one positioned above his head and the other close to his thigh.
Several feet from his body and in front of the police cruiser was the tan Ford sedan Jabbari was driving when the officer pulled him over. It remained with its doors open and its passenger-side wheels on the grass as investigators worked the scene.
Jabbari was pulled over around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, on the westbound side of West Michigan near Leo in a portion of Saginaw Township less than a half mile from the Saginaw city border. Police say they suspected he was intoxicated.
Thursday morning, most residents in the area who came to the door did not know anything about the situation. One man called it a tragedy.
The two officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues, Pussehl said. The Saginaw Township Police Department has 43 officers.
Source: http://www.mlive.com