FREELAND, MI — As police continue searching for a man they say is shooting at vehicles as they drive along Interstate 96 and other roads through four Michigan counties, a Freeland man is claiming to have been the victim of some overzealous troopers.

About 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29, 56-year-old Kim Sachs was driving on U.S. 23 just south of I-96 on his way to visit relatives in Monroe when he noticed several police cars. A Michigan State Police vehicle pulled behind him and signaled for him to pull his vehicle over, which Sachs did, he said.

“As I looked back in my mirror, I saw she was coming at me with her gun drawn, just screaming, ‘Put your hands out where I can see them or I will shoot and kill you,’” Sachs said.

Sachs stuck his hands through the open driver’s side window, and the trooper then reached in to open the door. She ordered Sachs from his car, he said.

“She frisked me, she asked if I had any weapons on me or in the car, and I told her, ‘No,’” Sachs said. The trooper then searched the interior of his car, “making a complete mess,” he said.

“I kept asking her what was going on, what was this about, but she wouldn’t answer me,” Sachs said.

Related: Full MLive coverage of the I-96 corridor shootings



Another trooper arrived as backup while Sachs kept his hands on the car’s trunk, he said.

“She brought tears to my eyes,” Sachs said of his treatment at the first trooper’s hands. “When she was done, she said, ‘Thanks for being a good sport, now buckle up and drive safe.’ Three times she threatened to shoot and kill me.”

Sachs believes he was pulled over as part of law enforcement's effort to catch a man they say fired on 24 passing vehicles in Oakland, Livingston, Ingham and Shiawassee counties between Oct. 16 and Oct. 30. Witnesses have described the shooter as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, driving a dark 1998 Oldsmobile Alero or a 1998 Toyota Camry.

Authorities are offering a reward of $102,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Sachs said neither his appearance nor his vehicle match those of the shooter.

“I was driving a 2012 dark blue Mustang with white racing stripes on it, and that doesn’t even match what they’re looking for,” he said. “I understand how serious it is — they got somebody shooting people on the freeway — but I just couldn’t believe that was actually happening to me, that she treated me that way. That was way out of line. I’m frustrated, because everyone I talk to with the police, they don’t want to hear it.”

Sachs said he has twice contacted the Michigan State Police Brighton Post to file a complaint, but so far his claims have gone unheard. MLive was unable to reach the post’s commander for comment.

“I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I felt really abused,” Sachs said. “I was trembling so bad I could hardly function after that. I just think it was way overboard and way out of line.

“It was two days ago, and I’m still really rattled by the whole situation,” he continued. “It was just really uncalled for.”

A multi-jurisdictional task force is holding a press conference at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the Wixom Police Department to update the public on the investigation.

Click here for complete coverage of the I-96 shooter and click here for an interactive map of the shootings' locations.