ALLEGAN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Sept. 20, 2022) – No charges are expected against the Allegan County Sheriff’s Deputy involved in the shooting death of a motorist in Salem Township this past June 16th.
After getting the final report from the Michigan State Police, county prosecutor Myrene Koch determined on Monday that the actions of the unnamed deputy “were justified under the extreme circumstances.”
According to state investigators, the deputy was on his regular shift during that Thursday evening north of Hopkins when he noticed a southbound sedan on 26th Street stopping at the intersection of 140th Avenue, even though there was not a four-way stop there. That action led the deputy to follow the vehicle, which was going below the 55 MPH speed limit and swerving.
Pulling the vehicle over, the deputy noticed the odor of marijuana coming from inside, and a smartphone on the motorist’s lap was playing a video. He then instructed the motorist to step out of the sedan and conducted a field sobriety test. The motorist, Joseph Nagle, “became more agitated” as the test continued and eventually got into an altercation with the deputy.
In the course of the fight, the deputy began to lose consciousness, pulled out his firearm, and pulled the trigger one time. Nagle fell with a mortal chest wound, while the deputy was eventually hospitalized with a traumatic head injury.
Toxicology tests indicated that Nagle had been under the influence of both cocaine and marijuana at the time of the incident, and a further investigation disclosed that he had been exhibiting “strange behavior” in the days before the incident that led family, friends and co-workers to believe that he had been influenced by “drugs of some kind.”
The deputy in the incident had been on administrative leave during the course of the state police investigation into the matter.
The incident occurred before the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department began implementation of body cameras on road patrol deputies, a project approved in January by the county board, but according to Sheriff Frank Baker, took several months to put into place.
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