George Hunter
Detroit— A city police officer
who was suspended in 2006 for improperly firing his gun and then lying about it
is the subject of another investigation after shooting a 20-year-old man
Wednesday outside an eastside gas station.
Officer Christopher Stanton,
who is assigned to the department’s Commercial Auto Theft Unit, was off duty
when, at about 12:30 a.m on March 12, he allegedly shot a 20-year-old man in
the lot of a Sphinx gas station in the 17800 block of Van Dyke.
After the shooting, the
20-year-old was arrested. He’s being held on “unrelated charges,” Detroit
Police Sgt. Michael Woody said.
“The officer will be put on
desk duty while an investigation is conducted to determine if there was any
wrongdoing criminally or departmentally,” Woody said. “The investigator will
prepare a warrant package and submit it to prosecutors for consideration of
charges.”
A source familiar with the
investigation told The News Stanton was working an unauthorized security detail
at a church across the street from the gas station when he got into an argument
with the man, who was unarmed.
At some point during the
altercation, Stanton pulled out his pistol and shot the man once in the chest,
the source said.
Stanton was suspended without
pay after a Feb. 28 2006 incident, in which he shot at a 19-year-old car thief
suspect during a foot chase. While being chased, the man fell down and was
injured.
According to minutes of the
March 23, 2006 meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners, the 19-year-old
reported Stanton for shooting at him. Department policy prohibits officers from
firing at suspects who don’t pose a threat.
Stanton claimed the suspect
threw a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun to the ground during the chase. The
officer also claimed he hadn’t fired his weapon.
But a ballistics test of his
gun showed he had fired it, and a .40 caliber bullet from Stanton’s service
weapon also was found at the scene. In addition, there was gunshot residue on
Stanton and the suspect.
Stanton was suspended without
pay for conduct unbecoming a police officer but allowed to remain on the force.