Attack on Plymouth Officer Led to Man's Fatal Shooting, Police Say

A City of Plymouth police officer "clearly was in fear for his life" when he shot and killed a man late Sunday in Plymouth Township when the man attacked him with a tire iron, Michigan State Police told the Plymouth Observer.

The Plymouth officer responded to a call about a disturbance at about 11 p.m. in the area of Joy and Lilley roads, Plymouth Director of Public Safety Al Cox said Monday. 

Michigan State Police told the Observer the man, a 25-year-old Plymouth Township resident, was breaking house and vehicle windows in the area near Sparr's Flowers & Greenhouse. Police are not indentifying the man or the officer involved, the report said, and state police are awaiting toxicology test results on the man.

Joseph White of the Michigan State Police told the Observer the man had a tire iron, displayed "threatening mannerisms" and indicated the officer "clearly was in fear for his life" when the shooting occurred.

On Monday, Cox said the officer was the first to respond to the scene to assist township officers and was the only officer on the scene when the shooting occurred, though two other officers were en route.

The fatal shooting by a City of Plymouth officer was the first that Cox could recall in his time with the department. He said Monday that "it's been decades" since such an incident had occurred.