LANSING – Today, the Department of Attorney General announced it has concluded its review of the officer-involved shooting death of Eric Michael Fiddler (PDF), then 34, of Jonesville, on June 27th, 2024, without issuing charges against the Michigan State Police troopers involved, finding they acted in self-defense and defense of fellow officers. It is the policy of the Michigan State Police (MSP) to send all officer-involved shootings to the Department of Attorney General for review.
In the afternoon of June 27th, 2024, Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Deputy William Butler conducted a traffic stop on Beecher Road in Jonesville, during which vehicle passenger Eric Fiddler shot and murdered Deputy Butler before fleeing on foot. Six troopers of the MSP Emergency Support Team (EST) were dispatched to track and apprehend the armed suspect. Accompanying the six troopers of the EST were two MSP K9 officers and their K9s and, additionally, an MSP sergeant and trooper from the Region of Irish Hills Narcotics Office.
An individual called 9-1-1 to report a sighting of Fiddler near Osseo Road and North Street. Soon thereafter, law enforcement spotted the suspect retreating into wooded land south of Culbert Road and east of Osseo Road, and the search team entered the dense woodland nearby. A K9 indicated Fiddler’s presence in a shed, and a trooper thrice issued loud verbal commands for Fiddler to come out with his hands up. With no response from Fiddler, the team made entry upon the shed and found it empty.
Mere minutes later, amid dense trees and thick brush, a trooper saw Fiddler laying behind a short, degraded cement foundational wall approximately 50 feet from the shed, and ordered him to show his hands. Instead, Fiddler shot at the trooper, and all six members of the MSP EST returned fire, killing Eric Fiddler on the forest floor.
The EST called for medical support though no life-saving measures were attempted as Fiddler was obviously deceased, having been shot in the left side of his head. His 9mm pistol remained in his hand following his death, and a fired cartridge case from his pistol was located near his body. Toxicology testing on Fiddler’s blood revealed an extremely high level of methamphetamines.
Under MSP policy, all officer-involved shootings are first assigned to investigators from a different district than where the incident occurred. The initial investigation was conducted by the MSP Fifth District Special Investigation Section, which then referred to matter the Department of Attorney General.
Attorneys at the Department of Attorney General reviewed Michigan State Police Reports, signed statements from MSP Troopers on-scene, video footage from patrol car and body-worn cameras, laboratory reports, the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s report, scene photographs, interviews, accident reconstruction reports, Hillsdale County Dispatch Call Summary, Data, & Notes, radio calls, MSP’s Use of Force policies, and other material.
The legal issue in this case was whether the MSP troopers acted in a legal manner during their interaction with Fiddler when they used deadly force by discharging their weapons. Law enforcement officers have the lawful authority to use force to protect the public welfare and in self-defense, but a careful balance of all human interests is required. An officer’s decision about the level of force necessary to control an individual will be based on the officer’s perception of the threat and the subject’s apparent ability to carry out that threat.
Under all the facts and circumstances known to troopers on this date, they were justified in their use of deadly self-defense. Law enforcement officers have the same privilege of self-defense as anyone else. Shooting a gun in self-defense requires an honest and reasonable belief that an officer is in danger of being killed or seriously injured. If that person’s belief was honest and reasonable, they can act immediately to defend themselves.
Here, under all of the facts and circumstances presented, the Department concluded the MSP troopers acted in self-defense and defense of fellow officers and did not act in a manner that would substantiate criminal charges. The Department of Attorney General is available to lead or support any investigation of an officer-involved shooting at the request of any county prosecutor or law enforcement agency within the state and today renews this commitment and offer.
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