No charges in police shooting of Deven Guilford

CHARLOTTE – An Eaton County Sheriff's sergeant's actions in a fatal shooting in February were lawful, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd said he reviewed the investigation by Michigan State Police, video from Sgt. Jonathan Frost's body camera and footage from the cell phone of 17-year-old Deven Guilford, who was filming the traffic stop after being pulled over by Frost near Grand Ledge. Frost's patrol vehicle did not have a dash camera.

Guilford, who was unarmed, was shocked with a stun gun after not complying with Frost's commands and then was shot seven times following an altercation with the officer.

"No one wins in these particular situations, but it's the prosecutor's responsibility to look at the facts, make a determination from the facts — was there a crime or was there not a crime?" Lloyd said.

Guilford's family said they will seek justice elsewhere following Lloyd's decision.

The lawyer for the family called Frost's actions "unreasonable" and said the family is planning a federal civil lawsuit.

Related: Statement from the family of Deven Guilford

Lloyd's announcement shed light on an incident that had previously only been described by sheriff's officials as an officer-involved shooting that resulted in Guilford's death and Frost being injured.

MSP investigators interviewed Guilford's father and girlfriend, who both said he had been watching YouTube videos of police encounters with citizens. While he didn't express anti-police views, Lloyd's release said Guilford described the videos as examples of police violating citizens' rights.

Frost, an eight-year veteran, initiated the stop after Guilford flashed his bright lights because he thought Frost's were on, according to the video played during the press conference. The 2015 Ford Explorer that Frost was driving has regular headlights that may seem to be on high beams when they are not. The vehicle drew a similar reaction from at least one other driver who had been pulled over by Frost that evening, Lloyd said.

The traffic stop was for a civil infraction for flashing his bright lights at an oncoming vehicle closer than 500 feet. Guilford repeatedly refused to give Frost his driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, which would have been a misdemeanor. It was later determined Guilford's license was with his girlfriend, Lloyd said.

Toxicology results showed that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, was in Guilford's system at the time of the stop. The level of the substance "suggests that Deven used marijuana within three to four hours or sooner," of the traffic stop, according to a press release issued by Lloyd's office.

Frost initially used his stun gun on Guilford while the teen was lying on his stomach next to his vehicle but would not put his hands behind his back as Frost was attempting to handcuff him. The stun gun wasn't fully effective because only one of two probes embedded into Guilford, Lloyd said, although Guilford shouted in pain.

Lloyd said Guilford got off the ground and the altercation ended in a snow-filled ditch, where Guilford was able to get on top of Frost and was hitting him in the face. There is no video of the final moments. Frost's body camera came off during the fight and his SUV had no dash camera; Guilford's cell phone remained on the pavement, recording audio of the shots but no video of the shooting.

Lloyd said Frost could feel blood in his mouth and felt he was about to lose consciousness before he removed his gun from the holster. Lloyd said Frost's gun did not fire at first, but he ejected an unfired round, chambered a new round and fired seven shots at close range in four seconds, all of which struck Guilford.

Lloyd said Frost was concerned Guilford might be able to take his weapon from him.

Frost's injuries were limited to his head and face, Lloyd said. X-rays showed no fractures to his jaw and eye socket. Frost was released from the hospital the next morning, Reich said.

Lloyd's decision clears Frost of any criminal wrongdoing. The Eaton County Sheriff's Department will begin its internal review to determine whether Frost followed all department procedures, Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich said.

Attorney Hugh Davis said the Guilford family plans to file a civil lawsuit in federal court against Frost within a few months. He said it's unlikely that they will include Eaton County.

Davis said his legal team will begin reviewing all the evidence collected during the investigation.

He said Guilford's family believes Frost's decision not to wait for other officers before removing Guilford from the car was "unreasonable."

Related: Transcript of body camera and cell phone videos

"The family is very unhappy," said Davis. "It's just very hard to go from dimming lights or not dimming lights to being dead."

Frost was placed on administrative duty after the incident. Reich said he will soon return to full patrol duty. He wasn't sure if Frost had hired an attorney.

"As fathers, mothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and friends to others we understand the heartache and grief in dealing with the sudden loss of a family member, loved one or co-worker," Reich said in a statement. "We also understand the emotions felt in the community. This was a tragic situation which will have a long term effect on everyone involved including all of us at the Eaton County Sheriff's Office."

He declined to comment on whether Frost followed the department's procedures or protocols, saying that the department had yet to receive the investigative materials and would need several weeks to complete its review.

Lloyd's office received the investigation on May 27, he said, and spent about three weeks reviewing 29 law enforcement reports, hours of video and audio, an autopsy report, a toxicology report, Frost's medical and personnel file and dispatch records, among other pieces of evidence.

He declined on Tuesday to release that evidence without a Freedom of Information Act request. The State Journal filed a FOIA request with his office Tuesday.

Frost's patrol vehicle didn't have a working dash camera because the department was in the process of equipping its vehicles with the cameras but there were delays with the software, Reich said. All patrol vehicles had the cameras were installed and working by the middle of March, he said.

Guilford's death was one of two officer-involved shootings in February involving Eaton County deputies where there was no working dash cameras. Lloyd ruled both justified.

Shortly after the shooting, Frost's weapon was taken as evidence and MSP was called to conduct an outside investigation.

Frost answered four questions from state police at the hospital — about additional possible suspects and other information — and then declined to be interviewed, opting instead to submit a report, Lloyd said.

The fatal shot was to the head. The investigation couldn't determine at what point in the four seconds of shooting Frost shot Guilford in the head.

Lloyd said he wasn't aware of any use of force complaints filed against Frost.

"While, in retrospect, both Deven and Sgt. Frost could have made different choices, ultimately this tragedy would not have occurred if Deven Guilford had not physically attacked Sgt. Frost," Lloyd wrote in his 19-page news release.

Guilford's family said in a statement that Frost had other options.

"There was no reason or necessity for the officer to physically remove our son from the car without considering other options to avoid an unnecessary violent escalation. It must be also noted that Deven was not in possession (of) any weapon and emphatically told the officer that he was not armed.

"We also have serious concerns about whether the officer used unreasonable force against Deven under the circumstances."

The response from the family was released by Constitutional Litigation Associates, a Detroit firm representing them.

Contact Matt Mencarini at 517-267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Contact Rachel Greco at 517- 528-2075 orrgreco@lsj.com. Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.