Wife called 911; deputies shot husband

BALTIMORE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Michigan State Police are investigating the deputy-involved shooting that left one man dead.

Ralph Elliott, 41, was shot and killed around 7 p.m. Saturday at a Baltimore Township residence. Authorities said he had been involved in a domestic dispute with his wife.

After Elliott and his wife argued, she called 911 from a neighbor's house, according to MSP Lt. Chuck Christensen.

A family member told 24 Hour News 8 she was afraid Elliott was going to hurt himself.

Elliott had fired two gunshots near someone, but not necessarily at someone, prior to the arrival of police.

Once at the scene, Barry County sheriff's deputies fired five rounds. Lt. Christensen said the deputies felt they were in danger. Elliott was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

MSP has already interviewed family members, neighbors and other deputies who were at the scene.

The two deputies most closely involved in the shooting will be interviewed Thursday, Lt. Christensen said. Investigators typically wait a few days before interviewing deputies because it allows them to get a better account of what happened.

Christensen expects to have more information by Friday.

Authorities are waiting for autopsy results, including toxicology, which will take six to eight weeks.

Investigators have not ruled out the possibility Elliott shot himself sometime during the confrontation.

Elliott had previous issues with domestic violence, according to court documents. In a separate incident in August 2012, the prosecutor's office wrote in the documents, Elliott threatened to shoot his wife while his 6-year-old daughter was in the room. The prosecutor wrote Elliott was drunk at the time.

Elliott pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor assault and battery charge in December 2012. The judge sentenced him to probation and did not allow him to buy or have a gun.

A family member told 24 Hour News 8 Elliott struggled with alcohol abuse, but added that deputies should be held accountable if they wrongly shot him.

The four deputies involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave per department protocol.