murder charges against White federal agent in grand rapids—regarding the runover death of (black thug) Samuel Sterling—dropped yesterday by judge; Benjamin Crump and Ven Johnson are not having a very good month with their civil cases

By Grand Rapids Anonymous
thursday, may 29, 2025 at 5:16:00 p.m. edt

murder charges against White federal agent in grand rapids—regarding the runover death of (black thug) Samuel Sterling—dropped yesterday by judge; Benjamin Crump and Ven Johnson are not having a very good month with their civil cases

“(wwmt) grand rapids, mich. — murder charges for a retired michigan state police (msp) detective were dismissed by a federal judge wednesday.

"after being charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter last june for the death of 25-year-old Samuel Sterling, former msp detective sergeant Brian Keely's motion for dismissal of all charges was granted wednesday in federal court due to immunity under the the [sic] U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause, giving federal law supremacy over state law when there is a conflict between them, according to court documents.

"when trying to arrest Sterling on six outstanding warrants in april, two felony, two bench, and two for probation violations, Keely began chasing Sterling in an unmarked car after he ran away on foot. the chase ended in a Kentwood burger king parking lot when Keely hit Sterling with his car and pushed him into a brick wall.

"Keely argued that because he was a federal officer while working with the U.S. marshal service when attempting to arrest Sterling, he is immune from prosecution under the supremacy clause of the Constitution --and judge Hala Y. Jarbou agreed.

"'it is 'well settled' that a state cannot prosecute a federal officer for a violation of state law if (1) the officer 'was performing an act which he was authorized to do by the law of the United States' and (2) 'in performing that authorized act, [the officer] did no more than what was necessary and proper for him to do,' Jarbou said in his decision.

"the prosecution was not able to prove that Keely intended to harm or kill Sterling when he turned his car toward him, Jarbou said, and Keely said he was trying to cut Sterling off from the door, not hit him.

"'at the evidentiary hearing, however, the state presented no evidence that Keely turned his wheel sharply toward Sterling or intentionally killed him. the video evidence does not support that theory...' Jarbou said in his decision.

"michigan attorney [criminal] general Dana Nessel released a statement on the decision wednesday, which said in part:

"my department issued these charges based on the facts and evidence in this case. after a thorough review of the extensive evidence before a state district court, this case was bound over for trial based on a judge’s finding of probable cause that Keely illegally ended the life of Samuel Sterling. I stand by our arguments in that court, as well as those before the federal judge, that Keely was not acting reasonably under the circumstances, nor as a federal officer in a manner consistent with federal immunity from state prosecution.

"in january, a civil lawsuit alleging excessive force, violation of civil rights and gross negligence/willful and wanton misconduct was filed on behalf of Sterling's family.

"attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the family of Sterling in the civil lawsuits against Keely and Kent county, provided the following statement:

"we are deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to dismiss the criminal charges against sgt. Brian Keely. it sends a troubling message that a police officer can run over an unarmed man and avoid facing a criminal jury.

"let me be clear: while this criminal case has been dismissed, our fight for civil justice is not. this only strengthens the resolve of my co-counsel, Ben Crump, and me to pursue every legal avenue in our civil case to hold Keely and all others involved accountable for the preventable death of Samuel Sterling. Samuel’s family deserves answers and justice, and we will not stop until they get both."

GRA: I didn't know that law existed. Interesting. Crump and Johnson are having a lousy month of May [chuckle].



-GRA Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 5:16:00 PM EDT