Police: drugs in apt of shot student

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - State police tell 24 Hour News 8 they found drugs in the apartment of Grand Valley State University student Derek Copp after shooting him during a raid.

State Police Capt. Gary Gorski Tuesday refused to elaborate on what officers seized, though he said, "I guarantee there were illegal drugs there."

However, Copp's attorney, Frederick Dilley, said police found little during the March 11 incident.

"To my knowledge, the raid resulted in the seizure of a few tablespoons of marijuana, and nothing more," Dilley said Tuesday in a statement. "The primary concern remains the manner in which this raid was carried out, and the apparent lack of justification whatsoever for the use of force, much less deadly force, in executing a search warrant.

"The campus and Allendale communities are asking why? Why burst into a college student's apartment with a gun drawn for a few tablespoons of pot?"

A source familiar with the investigation said the West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET) obtained a search warrant for the apartment based on a confidential informant and after making several undercover buys.

WEMET commander Lt. Cameron Henke said his officers expect to turn over results of the drug investigation to the Ottawa County prosecutor's office Tuesday or Wednesday.

He said the drug case was delayed by the investigation into the shooting.

"We had to focus on things beyond the narcotics found in the house," Henke said. "We're working on that aspect of it right now."

Copp shared the apartment with a roommate, who has declined to speak with 24 Hour News 8.

"They'll have to make a determination on who, if anybody, they want to issue charges on," Henke said of prosecutors.

Ottawa County Prosecutor Ron Frantz has asked the Attorney General's office to determine whether an outside prosecutor should handle the case. Frantz is on WEMET's board of directors.

An Ottawa County deputy shot Copp once in the upper right chest during the raid. The deputy was among five WEMET officers involved in the raid.

Copp was unarmed and police said there was no confrontation before the shooting. He remains hospitalized but his condition is improving. Dilley said doctors are concerned about the potential for infection.

The deputy remains on administrative paid leave as State police continue to investigate the shooting.