'Wrong woman' gets $1m in lawsuit

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - Two years ago, Kalamazoo County sheriff deputies mistakenly thought a Scotts woman was one of the people firing shots at them as they pursued a burglary suspect and his wife through three counties.

She wasn't, and now Michelle Selbee will receive more than $1.1 million to settle a federal lawsuit stemming from the incident.

On Oct. 29, 2010, deputies were chasing John Metzelburg and his wife, Denise Metzelburg. He was wanted for a string of burglaries and she led police on a chase through three counties. During the chase, he fired shots at police as she drove a blue Toyota Camry.

During the gunfire exchange, the deputies lost sight of Metzelburg's car and came upon Selbee as she was pulling out of her driveway in a brown Camry.

They demanded she get out of her car, pulled her out by her hair, threw her to the ground and jumped on her back.

"But before I could get (the door) open, he reached in and grabbed my hair and yanked me out of the car (and) onto the ground," Selbee told 24 Hour News 8 at that time. "I spun into the dirt and then he jumps on my back.

"Then, he forcefully puts my hand behind my back and handcuffs me. Meanwhile, my son -- my 14-year-old son -- is watching this whole thing on the porch. Watching the whole thing, thinking that they were killing his mom, with guns aimed at his mom. And every time I lifted my head up, he jammed my head back into the dirt and told me to shut the f up. And they kept screaming and aimed their guns at my 14-year-old child."

A radio call eventually alerted deputies they had the wrong person.

"And instead of saying, 'are you OK, ma'am, can I call you an ambulance, ma'am, I'm sorry, ma'am,' anything -- he jumped off me and jumped in his cruiser and left me laying in the dirt," Selbee said.

The settlement has not yet been officially approved by Judge Robert Yonker, who presided over the case.

Metzelburg was eventually arrested, tried and convicted and is now serving a prison sentence.