Police questioned Michigan basketball team captain Zavier Simpson’s story from the start. They knew he’d already lied once.

Sitting in a patrol vehicle Jan. 26, one Ann Arbor officer wondered aloud why the young man was lingering after being spotted next to a crashed SUV near the university, police body camera footage obtained through the state Freedom of Information Act shows.

“If you’re not involved, why are you still here?” one officer can be heard saying to his partner.

Simpson, a senior point guard, had given police a false name, was told he could be arrested for it, and later admitted the SUV was loaned out to student-athletes by basketball team student manager Evan Manuel, the video shows.

The car belonged to his mom, Chrislan Manuel, wife of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, police later said.

“I don’t think Evan was here,” another officer can be heard saying on video.

He points out how close the driver’s seat is to the steering wheel.

“I think he was with some girl,” the officer says.

Police dashboard and body camera footage obtained by the Free Press show Simpson changing his story and the actions of police officers who found a 2011 Toyota RAV4 crashed into a utility pole and bike lane sign at 3:03 a.m. on westbound Hill Street, west of South Forest Avenue. Some of the footage given to the Free Press was redacted by the police department.

Warde Manuel declined to comment. Simpson and Evan Manuel could not immediately be reached for comment.

The basketball team announced a day after the accident that Simpson was suspended for one game for violating team policies. No details were given.

'We can arrest you'

A kid ran away from the SUV — that was Simpson’s first story.

When Officers Jordan Gawronski and Jeffrey Shafer rolled up, three people — a woman and two men — were near the SUV, dashboard video shows. The passenger door was open.

An officer asks the group whose car it is as he walks up, body camera footage shows. One man points to Simpson.

But Simpson said it's not his car, video shows. He’d just walked up to it.

“I’m not sure, but the kid ran down the block there,” he says.

The man and woman say they were just passersby.

Simpson gives the name “Jeff” for his first name and “Jackson” for his middle name.

When asked for his last name, he pauses briefly and says “Simpson.”

“Like the basketball player?” the officer says.

“Yeah,” Simpson replies.

Getting back into the patrol vehicle shortly after, the officer asks his partner whether the man is Zavier Simpson, video shows.

The other officer confirms the man in front of them is Simpson and the first officer pulls up a photo of Simpson on his phone. The first officer asks his partner to walk back out to Simpson with him, lest the basketball player make a run for it.

Officers don't call Simpson “Jeff” when they speak to him again, instead asking Simpson by his first name whether he was in the car.

“Me, no, I wasn’t, I seen it coming though,” he says.

When questioned about why he lied, Simpson asks what he lied about, then says he didn’t want to get involved.

One officer admonishes him.

“You don’t think we know you? We’re not stupid,” the officer says. “You can’t lie to a police officer about your name. … It’s against the law.”

“I know that,” Simpson responds.

“We can arrest you for that,” the officer tells Simpson.

In another video, which shows Simpson on his phone, an officer tells the basketball player he knows Simpson wasn’t the driver, because he was too tall for the seat position.

“If you’re in the car, I don’t care, it doesn’t matter," the officer says.

The officer says he wants to know who was driving and whose car was involved in the wreck, and asks who Simpson thought was driving.

Simpson says the car belongs to Evan Manuel, who lets many people use it, including members of the basketball and baseball teams. He says he was walking by when he recognized the vehicle with a "UCONN" sticker.

He says he knew Evan Manuel wasn't the driver but doesn't finish his sentence after saying "because."

Audio contained on the redacted video provided by Ann Arbor Police does not include a conversation one officer included in his police report.

Officer Shafer said he saw Simpson stumble a couple of times while walking around outside, according to his report. He made the observation while running the license plate on the SUV from inside the patrol car.

When the other officer, Gawronski, got back into the patrol vehicle and Shafer relayed the observation, Gawronski said he didn’t smell the odor of intoxicants on Simpson’s breath, Shafer said in the report.

The car was totaled, one officer said in video footage.

Footage from one dashboard camera shows Simpson was at the scene for nearly 30 minutes and continually went into various doors of the car.

“SIMPSON then began going into the vehicle as if he was looking for property but I did not see him physically remove anything,” Shafer said in his report.

The SUV was eventually towed.

A citation

Gawronski and Shafer later went to Evan Manuel’s apartment, according to the police report.

Manuel stepped into the hallway and told police his roommate told him someone wrecked his car.

The roommate was in their living room and awake when he noticed a tow truck hauling the SUV, pull into the apartment lot and drop off Simpson, Manuel told police.

Manuel said he’d been out with friends when he decided to leave, but left his car keys with one of his friends, police said. He told police he did not remember which friend.

His mother, the registered owner Chrislan Manuel, revealed her son hesitantly told her Simpson was the driver, police said.

Command sergeants told the officer to submit a formal report for failure to report a crash, according to a police report.

A little over a week later, on Feb. 4, another officer was assigned to follow up. He contacted Simpson on Feb. 5, and, when asked, Simpson indicated he was the driver of the SUV, a police report shows.

Simpson agreed to meet at the university’s student legal services office the same day.

With a lawyer and another officer present, Simpson said he lost control of the vehicle on a slippery road, possibly because of a patch of ice, and crashed into a wooden utility pole, the investigator said in the report.

Simpson said there were no other passengers in the vehicle when he crashed, police said.

Simpson was cited for violation of basic speed law.

When news of the crash, first reported by MLive, broke, Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Bill Clock said the citation was for speeding too fast for conditions.

He said it took several days for the ticket to be written because of the need for an investigation into the driver, a computer system that worked slowly to send the report back to an officer for an update, and officers’ schedules, Clock said.

The fallout

When asked why Simpson wasn't charged with lying to police, Clock previously said officers have discretion when determining an appropriate charge.

“It was determined very quickly who he was,” he said.

Ann Arbor Police Lt. Renee Bush said all charges are based on an officer’s discretion.

A hit-and-run charge could’ve been pursued, but is typically done in more serious cases, she said. When asked why no field sobriety or alcohol breath tests were done, she said officers can't randomly breathalyze people and, at that point, police didn't know who the driver was.

“The bottom line is what the investigator feels is solid for that investigation and fair,” she said. “(Simpson) did eventually tell the truth and so a ticket was just written.”

Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard said on Feb. 7 he didn't recall exactly when he was made aware of Simpson's crash.

Simpson was reinstated Jan. 31 for Michigan's game against Rutgers in New York.

Howard said he was worried about Simpson's health and safety first and foremost, and had conversations with Simpson about lying to police.

“Just the two of us," Howard said. "And we looked each other in the eye and both understand — he understands where I’m coming from and understands the rules that are in place. I support him and we move on."

Free Press Sports Editor Chris Thomas contributed to this report.

Contact Elisha Anderson: eanderson@freepress.com or 313-222-5144

Contact Darcie Moran: dmoran@gannett.com