Deputy off-duty at time of fatal crash

HASTINGS, Mich. (WOOD) - A Barry County deputy killed in a motorcycle crash last year was not on-duty after all, and two state troopers have been reprimanded for filing reports that suggested he was, Target 8 investigators learned Thursday.

One of those troopers, then a sergeant, was demoted.

Deputy Christopher Yonkers "was on a motorcycle ride for personal purposes, not at all related to his law enforcement assignment with the Southwest Enforcement Team (SWET), " according to a state police report dated Aug. 17 -- nearly a year after the crash.

State Trooper Phillip McNabnay, then a member of SWET, was reprimanded for writing the report suggesting Yonkers was on-duty at the time, and for releasing it to the Barry County Sheriff's Department, according to Fifth District Commander Capt. Greg Krusinga.

The Barry County Sheriff's Department then released it to Thin Blue Line, a law enforcement Web site, Krusinga said.

State Police Sgt. James Richardson, then part of SWET, was demoted to trooper and transferred out of the drug unit for approving the report, Krusinga said.

Richardson and McNabnay worked with and were friends of Yonkers, who was a married father of five, Krusinga said.

"They both got caught up in the emotion of the moment," Krusinga told Target 8 investigators. "This was their friend. It was improper for them to do this.

"We operate on facts, not speculation. This report was offered for improper purpose. The information, as put together, paints an inaccurate picture."

Krusinga said it's not clear what impact this will have on Yonkers' family. Officers killed in the line of duty are eligible for $315,746 in death benefits from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Officials at the federal agency in Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment.

Yonkers' family was upset they learned of the new findings from 24 Hour News 8. They disputed the state's findings.

Yonkers' daughter, Anna Yonkers, 18, said she was the last in her family to speak with her father.

"His last words to me were like, 'OK, I'm going to be going to a trash pull. Tell your mom I'll be gone from this time to this time, and I'll call her if I'll be really late,' " she said.

A trash pull is when drug investigators check a suspected drug dealer's garbage on the curb for possible evidence.

Yonkers worked odd hours, relatives said.

"My personal opinion is that you can never officially prove he was on duty, but with SWET, it was on-duty and off-duty any time during the day," Anna Yonkers said. "I also know that he wouldn't have been killed if he didn't have to do the trash pull."

It's also unclear what, if any, impact this could have on the trial against the driver who allegedly caused the crash.

Yonkers, 43, of Hastings, was driving his Indian motorcycle west on M-43 near Usborne Road, north of Hastings, about 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 17 when a car turned left in front of him, police said.

The driver, Justin Malik, 25, of Hastings, faces charges of operating while impaired causing death and driving on a suspended license causing death -- both 15-year felonies.

Records show he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.01, as well as THC from marijuana in his system.

A medical examiner's report obtained by 24 Hour News 8 shows Yonkers' blood-alcohol level was 0.02.

The day after the crash, state police and Sheriff Dar Leaf said Yonkers was off-duty.

But several days later -- -- and just before the funeral -- Leaf announced he had been on-duty after all, following up on drug investigations. He based his announcement on McNabnay's report.

Leaf refused comment Thursday.

In McNabnay's state police report suggesting Yonkers was on-duty, he gave several possible scenarios:

• That he was going through a suspect's garbage to look for evidence of drugs
• That he was investigating a tip that marijuana was being grown in the area. He had already made several trips to the area, flew over the site with his personal airplane and with a state police helicopter.

About five hours before his death, Yonkers left a voicemail for McNabnay, saying he was "out running errands on his motorcycle."

"Detective Yonkers has left me messages before that he was "out running errands" and his activities on those occasions included
surveillance on criminal narcotics targets," McNabnay wrote.

• That he was investigating cocaine and methamphetamines in the Nashville area

Or that he could have been working undercover in a bar. Records show he was wearing his motorcycle leathers and was carrying his service weapon and badge.

Sgt. Richardson reviewed McNabnay's report and concluded: "I believe that D/Christopher Yonkers may have been working in some capacity for the Southwest Enforcement Team at the time of his death."

Krusinga, the state police commander, said he and other state police supervisors never believed Yonkers was working on a drug case, even as the sheriff announced he was.

"They (SWET) work as a team under close supervision," Krusinga said. "At the time, he was on a personal motorcycle, and the team was off-duty."

Yonkers' mother, Pat Thiery, said the findings don't matter.

"When you lose a child, no, it doesn't matter," she said. "You lose a child. It's a breathtaking thing, the sorrow that only people who lose children know."

And, it doesn't change the kind of cop her son was.

"Chris absolutely loved being an officer. He loved it," she said. "He gave his life to that long before he was killed."