Lawton officer shoots, kills suspect

LAWTON, Mich. (WOOD) - A Lawton police officer shot and killed a suspect early Wednesday morning, authorities at the scene told 24 Hour News 8.

Michael Adams, 34, from Galesburg was wanted on a failure to appear felony warrant on a weapons charge out of Kalamazoo County.

The officer, Scott Hitchcock, was not injured. Hitchcock, a Lawton police officer for 12 years, has been in law enforcement for 15 years.

Christina York and her two daughters were in Adams' vehicle during the incident. She said Adams was doing her a favor by helping her bail her oldest daughter out of jail.

"We bond her out and not a half-hour later, my friend was laying there gurgling," said York.

York said she didn't know that Adams had guns with him as they left the Van Buren County Jail.

York said Adams was behind the wheel as they drove through the Village of Lawton around 3 a.m. Wednesday when he spotted a police car turn around and begin to follow them.

The Van Buren County Sheriff's Department said that stop was meant to be a routine traffic stop.

York said Adams pulled into a random driveway in the 600 block of S. Main Street and got out of the car to confront the police.

"I said, 'What are you doing?'" York recounted. "And he said, 'I'm not going back to prison.'"

Hitchcock ordered Adams back into the car. York said Adams complied.  

But when Hitchcock asked for a license and registration, York said, her friend pulled a handgun.

"My friend grabbed a gun, and they shot him. So he falls back and grabs a bigger gun, and then they shot him again," York told 24 Hour News 8.

York described the chaos of the moment.

"He kept yelling, 'I'm shot, I'm shot.' And I kept yelling, 'Please don't do this. Please don't do this,'" said York. "And he grabbed the big gun and got out, and they started firing and they shot him again."

The big gun was an SKS assault rifle.

York said she was scared for her daughters.

"The whole time this is going on, my kids are in the back seat. They blew out the back window. I was just scared for my kids' life," she said.

York said she understands why police had to take the actions they did, including blowing a hole in the back window.

"But maybe he didn't have to get killed," she said.

Authorities said that Adams pointed the handgun directly at Hitchcock.

Hitchcock then shot his gun at least once at Adams, authorities said, hitting him in the chest. Witnesses said they heard two gunshots.

Adams reached back into his car and the officer retreated to his squad car.

The suspect grabbed an assault rifle from his car and pointed it at the officer. The officer shot Adams again.

Adams died at the scene.

Adams did not shoot at the officer during the incident, authorities said.

Both of Adams' guns were loaded and the suspect had magazines for the handgun on him at the time, police said.

York and her daughters were not injured.

York said she was questioned by authorities for about six hours. All three were released on Wednesday.

Michigan State Police, which is investigating the incident, told 24 Hour News 8 that Hitchcock fired his weapon seven times, hitting Adams three or four times.

Adams has a long criminal record that includes pleading guilty to eight separate offenses beginning in 1995, including at least two stints in prison. During one sentence, he pleaded guilty to smuggling contraband into prison.

Hitchcock is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

-- Listen to police dispatch of the incident (mp3) --