Macomb County Officer Will Not Face Charges In Deadly Shooting: Sheriff

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI — A Macomb County officer involved in a deadly December shooting will not face charges, the sheriff's office said Wednesday.

The shooting happened on Dec. 3 at 3:30 p.m. in the 44000 block of Apple Blossom Drive near Ryan Road in Sterling Heights, officials said.

Officers were called to the home to check on a man who was possibly suicidal, officials said.

When officers arrived, they found 54-year-old Nicolas Reinaldo Quaranta holding a loaded handgun and experiencing a mental health episode, officials said.

The officers and trained crisis negotiators spent more than an hour talking with Quaranta to de-escalate the situation, officials said.

At one point, officials said Quaranta pointed the gun to his head and threatened to aim at officers. He sat at the top of a staircase inside the condominium and repeatedly refused officers’ requests to come down the stairs and exit the building, officials said.

"Quaranta then stood up, bent over, retrieved his firearm, and raised it toward officers, at which point an officer discharged his weapon," officials said.

Officials said Quaranta was killed in the shooting. There were no other injuries.

Investigators determined the force deployed by the officer "conforms to Michigan law, as well as applicable agency policy, standards, and guidelines," and therefore the officer will not face any criminal charges.