MICHIGAN STATE TROOPER CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER HITTING SUSPECT WITH CAR

A Michigan State Police detective has been charged with murder after investigators say he fatally struck a fleeing suspect with an unmarked SUV last month near Grand Rapids, state prosecutors announced.

Detective Sgt. Brian Keely on April 17 tried to arrest the suspect, 25-year-old Samuel Sterling, but Sterling fled and was chased by law enforcement officers by vehicle and on foot, according to the Michigan Department of the Attorney General.

As Sterling was running through a fast food restaurant parking lot in the suburb of Kentwood, the detective – driving an unmarked SUV – turned and struck Sterling with the vehicle, prosecutors said

Sterling fell to the ground and began yelling and groaning about pain in his back, body-worn police camera footage shows. He was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries, the attorney general’s office said.

Keely, 50, has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence, as well as an alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday. Alternative charges are typically lesser charges brought by prosecutors as a backup in case they can’t prove the most serious offense.

“Detective Sergeant Keely’s actions that day were legally, grossly negligent and created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm, which could have otherwise been prevented,” Nessel said.

Keely was suspended from his position following the incident, Michigan State Police Director Col. James Grady II said last month. CNN has sought comment from state police on his employment status following the murder charge