Deputy fatally shoots armed man who threatened father
By Carli Petrus
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FRENCHTOWN TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WXYZ) — A Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man armed with a knife Sunday morning after officials say the man threatened a citizen while soliciting money.
The incident happened just after 11 a.m. near the I-75 off-ramp at North Dixie Highway in Frenchtown Township, near the TownePlace Suites hotel.
Kris Blanchett said he had just exited I-75 with his 9-year-old daughter when they spotted a man near the off-ramp holding a sign. Blanchett said the sign was explicit, asking for money in exchange for a sexual act.
“When she read it out loud to me, I was just totally stunned, like what did you just, what did you say? And then I looked and he’s just standing there with a grin on his face,” Blanchett said.
“And it kind of blew my mind, so I opened my door and I had words with him and told him that he probably shouldn’t be out here. There’s kids out here. My concern for my daughter and everyone else’s kid that reads that,” Blanchett said.
The interaction quickly escalated.
“And he started to approach me and had something in his hand, I can’t say if it was exactly a knife or if it wasn’t, but I locked my door and he kept threatening me. I just drove off and called central dispatch,” Blanchett said.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy was dispatched to the area after reports of a man soliciting money, threatening a citizen, and armed with a knife.
When the deputy arrived, officials say he tried to use a Taser twice, but it was ineffective. The deputy then fired his weapon, striking and killing the man.
The scene shut down the nearby TownePlace Suites hotel for hours. Philip Patel, TownePlace Suites by Marriott developer and operator, said the closure impacted guests.
“My hotel is closed, and it’s a part of major hotel and customer complaints are piling up, and some customers are stuck. They want to go home, or new customers want to come in, but we cannot allow that,” Patel said.
Blanchett said he regrets opening his door and never imagined his 911 call would end this way.
“I was actually, I didn’t think about it at first when I opened my door but it was a stupid move. Nowadays you never know what you’re going to get out of people,” Blanchett said.
“I’m really sorry that it escalated to this, you know, my thoughts are with his family and with the officers involved and I really hope that in the future these things can get handled without violence,” Blanchett said.
The deputy involved was not injured and has been placed on administrative leave. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them as the investigation continues.
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