Following a 15-minute pursuit after two Battle Creek officers in the same patrol vehicle attempted to stop a suspected drunken driver. Police pursued the SUV despite their claims the person was driving recklessly including into the wrong lanes of traffic at speeds of 90 miles per hour. The driver lost control and traveled over the curb. As the three officers began to approach the SUV, it drove toward them, striking the Battle Creek police vehicle. All three officers shot into the moving vehicle, killing the driver, and the vehicle continued until it crashed into woods at the end of the street.
Killer: Patrick Herson, Stephen Herbstreith
Agency: Battle Creek Police Department, Calhoun County Sheriff's Office
Motive: Traffic violation (driving while intoxicated)
Confrontation Type: Traffic Stop
Service Call: No
Body Camera: No
Official Disposition: Pending investigation
Victim Name: Andrew Blowers
Death Date: September 5, 2020
County: Calhoun
Geography: Urban
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Race: White
Cause of Death: Gunshot
Criminal Charges: No known charges
Mental Illness: Drug or alcohol use
Armed: Vehicle
Weapon: vehicle
Threat Level: attack
Fleeing: Car
Washington Post Database ID: 6146