A Michigan state trooper accused of fatally hitting a fleeing suspect with an SUV faces murder charges

A Michigan State Police detective has been charged with murder after investigators say he fatally struck a fleeing suspect with an unmarked SUV near Grand Rapids last month, prosecutors said.

Detective Sgt. Brian Keely attempted to arrest the suspect, 25-year-old Samuel Sterling, on April 17, but Sterling fled and was pursued by police officers by car and on foot, according to the Michigan Department of the Attorney General.

As Sterling ran through the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in suburban Kentwood, the detective – driving an unmarked SUV – turned around and struck Sterling with his vehicle, prosecutors said.

Sterling fell to the ground and began screaming and moaning because he was in back pain, according to police body-worn camera footage. He was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, the attorney general’s office said.

Keely, 50, has been charged with second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence, and manslaughter, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday. Alternate charges are typically lesser charges brought by prosecutors in place of charges if they cannot prove the most serious offense.

“Detective Sergeant Keely’s actions that day were, as a matter of law, grossly negligent and resulted in a very high risk of death or serious bodily harm that could otherwise have been prevented,” Nessel said.

Keely was suspended from his post following the incident, Michigan State Police Director Col. James Grady II said last month. CNN has reached out to state police for comment on his employment status following the murder charge.

The case came amid a nationwide campaign for greater control over the use of force by police, particularly against people of color.

Grady announced in April that the agency would investigate the fatal collision and acknowledged the grief that was shaking many people in the community.

“As an African American man and a father, it is not lost on me that this is another young African American death as a result of an altercation with police,” Grady said.

After the charges against Keely were announced, Sterling family attorney Ven Johnson said, “We applaud and thank Attorney General Dana Nessel for doing the right thing based on the overwhelming evidence that Keely broke the law when he ran over Samuel Sterling.”

Keely’s attorney, Marc Curtis, said in a press release: “It is unfortunate that in this era of political correctness, the Michigan Attorney General has chosen to ignore the facts of this incident and rely on political pressure.”

Video shows the moment the SUV hits Sterling

On May 10, state police announced that the investigation was complete and all evidence had been turned over to the Attorney General’s Office. That same day, the agency released an edited compilation of footage of the incident captured by body and dashboard cameras.

The footage shows at least one police officer pursuing Sterling on foot into a Burger King parking lot when a large gray SUV enters the parking lot and hits Sterling, making it appear as if he is being pushed against the wall of the restaurant.

After the SUV backs away from him, several police officers approach Sterling and order him to put his hands behind his back. Sterling repeatedly screams “my back” and moans in pain. After his hands are handcuffed in front of his body, Sterling continues to complain that his back and entire body hurts.

“Don’t move, man,” one officer says. Officers ask him where he is in pain and repeatedly tell him not to move until emergency personnel arrive. Another officer says, “We don’t want you to move your back.”

Sterling’s family was “stunned and horrified” when they saw the footage, her lawyer said in a statement to CNN affiliate WWMT.

“No single person should be able to appoint themselves judge, jury and executioner, yet deaths from police brutality and excessive force continue to occur too frequently. We will continue to demand justice for his family and hold those responsible for his death accountable,” Johnson said.

Although the general rule is that police officers may only use deadly force against a suspect if the suspect poses an imminent threat of death or serious injury, this case represents an unusual chain of circumstances, said John Miller, CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst.

“The case will depend on several factors: Would a reasonable person with Keely’s police training have believed that a car collision with Sterling would have a high probability of causing serious injury or death? Was this use of force reasonable under the circumstances?” he said.

The law requires officers to consider “all circumstances,” Miller noted.

“For example, if the purpose is to pursue a burglary suspect or shoplifter, deadly force should not be used to stop him,” Miller said. “However, if police track down a serial killer or armed gunman who is on the run, and his escape poses an imminent threat to others he could attack or kill, the use of deadly force to stop him could be justified.”

At the time of the encounter, law enforcement officers from several departments, including the U.S. Marshals Service, were “engaged in a fugitive apprehension operation” to arrest Sterling, who “was wanted on multiple warrants,” Grady said in April. Authorities did not disclose the nature of the charges.

Keely’s attorney said Sterling’s loss was “tragic and can never be replaced,” but argued his death was “an accident that could have been avoided if Mr. Sterling had simply turned himself in” before a task force was dispatched to capture him.

“This accident could have been avoided if Mr. Sterling had simply followed the detectives’ instructions,” Curtis said.

Keely will be arraigned in Kentwood District Court, but a date has not yet been set.

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com