Niraj Warikoo

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit man who died in an encounter with a Dearborn police officer was shot five to six times, once from "very close range," according to a private autopsy report obtained by the Free Press.

Requested by the family of Kevin Matthews, the autopsy report on the 36-year-old man offers new details about the Dec. 23 shooting in Detroit near the border with Dearborn that sparked civil rights protests. Family members say Matthews, who was an African American, suffered from mental health problems and was unarmed.

An attorney for the family, Milton Greenman, said the private autopsy report shows police were at fault in the incident, which is being investigated by the Detroit Police Department. Greenman said the report has been forwarded to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

"Death was caused by multiple gunshot wounds," read the report by Dr. Bader J. Cassin, a former Wayne County medical examiner. "At least six bullets struck the body, one from very close range, and all coursed right-to-left and in an upward trajectory. Some of the wound paths were sharply upward."

Matthews had five to six gunshot entries on the right side of his body, as well as several abrasions and a contusion, according to the report.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office has not released the full report from the original autopsy that it conducted in December. The office said in December that Matthews died from homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds, but it did not release additional details.

Police said previously that there was a struggle before the shooting. Matthews had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for a probation violation.

"The officer approached the subject, a 36-year-old Detroit resident, and the subject fled on foot," Dearborn police said in a statement released in December. "The officer chased the subject and encountered him several houses away, in Detroit, where a struggle ensued. Subsequently, the officer fired his department issued weapon, striking the subject."

Greenman said the autopsy report indicates that the shooting was improper.

"This isn't an example of an accidental shooting" where "the gun goes off," Greenman told the Free Press. There is "evidence of intent" because he was shot several times, Greenman said.

Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad and Mayor Jack O'Reilly did not return calls seeking comment.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it will be working with Dearborn police to review their use of force practices and help increase diversity.

The month after Matthews' death, another black Detroit resident who was unarmed and had mental health problems, Janet Wilson, was shot dead in an encounter in Dearborn with a Dearborn police officer. Police have said she tried to run over an officer with her car.

After the Justice Department's announcement, O'Reilly told the Free Press that the Dearborn officer who shot Matthews had a "positive relationship" with him in the past. O'Reilly said the officer knew of Matthews' mental health problems and had "brought him home at times. He had done things. He knew him well."

The day of the shooting, O'Reilly said, "he was going to help him, but somehow it turned into a confrontational, or physical, matter. ... There was no malice, that's clear."

Greenman disputed O'Reilly's view of the incident, saying the autopsy report shows there was intent to harm Matthews and should result in criminal charges against the officer.

"Here's a person that the Dearborn police had come into contact with. They knew had a history of mental illness," Greenman said. "They knew where he lived. He had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for his arrest."

And if we accept that the officer had a "positive relationship" with Matthews, as O'Reilly said, "why are you killing this man when he was unarmed?" Greenman questioned.

The report said the private autopsy was done Dec. 28 at Clora Funeral Home in Detroit. The report said Matthews had abrasions on his forehead, above his left eyebrow, and on his left elbow, knee and lower leg, and a contusion on the left side of his chest.

The report said there was a cluster of four, possibly five, gunshot entries on the right side of Matthews' body, about 16 to 17 inches below his head, with a leftward "slight upward trajectory through adjacent ribs." There was also a gunshot entry on the right lower part of his abdomen, the report said.

On Friday, the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality reiterated its call for Dearborn's police chief to resign, saying that the Justice Department's action "is not enough."

"Swift and thorough action is necessary to ensure that not another citizen's life is compromised or lost because of the actions of rogue officers who abrogate their responsibility to serve and protect the community," the coalition said in a statement released through spokesman Kenneth Reed. "The families of Kevin Matthews and Janet Wilson, and the entire Detroit/Dearborn community, deserve no less than this."

In a statement released in January after the Wilson shooting, Dearborn police said it "is deeply saddened by the two officers involved in fatal shooting incidents that have occurred over the past month."

"While we are very proud of our long history of civil rights advocacy, as well as our history of appropriate use of force, we will closely examine all of our policies and procedures to ensure that we are employing the latest training and following national best practices in all of our responsibilities to the community."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, 313-223-4792 or on Twitter @nwarikoo

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