No charges for officer in death of Michigan teen struck by police car during chase

A prosecutor declined to file charges Tuesday against a police officer who struck and killed a West Michigan teenager as the boy fled a stolen vehicle.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker instead charged the teen driver with causing the death while fleeing police.

Riley Doggett, 17, was struck by a patrol car driven by a sheriff's deputy at the end of a high-speed chase in Kent and Ottawa counties on April 8. He died from head injuries on May 9.

Doggett and another teen, who was driving, were fleeing a stolen Range Rover on foot after the vehicle crashed into parked cars in a commercial district, investigators said.

Becker said the deputy thought Doggett was dangerous, even though the teen was holding a phone and not a gun.

“He was not attempting to use deadly force against a fleeing criminal. He was trying to cut her off,” the prosecutor explained.

The deputy grabbed Doggett's leg with the side of his patrol car and the result was “a horrible thing,” Becker said.

Ven Johnson, an attorney for Doggett's family, publicly urged authorities last week to release the dashcam video and other details. He said the family had been in the dark for too long.

Even though the teen had done “something stupid,” he didn't deserve to be the victim of “unlawful, unnecessary and deadly force,” Johnson said Friday, hours before a memorial service for Doggett.

“It’s their job to stop him – period.” Don’t be judge, jury and executioner,” Johnson said of police.

Doggett's mother, Becky Wilbert, said he was a “good kid” regardless of the circumstances leading up to his death.

“He was funny. He was smart. He excelled in school,” Wilbert said. “He was always making jokes, making everyone laugh. He was the piece of our family that held everyone together.