State Trooper Sued For $50M In Detroit Teen's Death

DETROIT, MI — A Michigan State Trooper suspended as a result of a 15-year-old’s death Saturday in Detroit is being sued by the boy’s family for $50 million, according to a Detroit News report. The family of Desmond Grimes is being represented by Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who announced the suit at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

State Trooper Mark Bessner allegedly tasered Grimes as he drove an ATV along a city street near Rossini and Gratiot Avenue on Detroit’s east side. After getting hit with the stun gun, the boy, crashed into a pickup. He later died at a city hospital.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Grimes’ death accidental, the Detroit News reported. The teen died of blunt force trauma to the head.

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Both the Detroit Police Department and the Michigan State Police are investigating the incident. Bessner was suspended for violating a MSP policy that forbids troopers from firing stun guns into moving vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday that Bessner has a history of using excessive force while with the State Police. A pair of civil lawsuits have been filed against him since 2013, the newspaper reported.

Bessner and other state troopers settled the first case, which was filed in U.S. District Court in 2013. He allegedly kneed and repeatedly struck a man at Detroit Sinai Grace Hospital.

Troopers sought criminal charges against the man, Martin McCurtis, from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, but none were approved. McCurtis was eventually released and not charged, the Free Press reported.

The other case was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in 2015. Bessner was sued for tasering a man that he and another trooper stopped after a high speed chase.

The lawsuit claimed that Bessner tased Michael Crittle, 56, several times even after he was secured in handcuffs. The Free Press reported that the lawsuit was never served on Bessner or other defendants.

Photo by Joe Ross via Flickr Commons