Former Michigan State Police Trooper Mark Bessner was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after firing a Taser from a moving patrol car at 15-year-old Damon Grimes, causing him to crash an ATV and die.
The incident happened on August 26, 2017, near Rossini Drive and Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. According to the Michigan Court of Appeals, Bessner was on duty as a Michigan State Police trooper and riding in the passenger seat of an MSP scout car when he fired his Taser at Grimes, who was riding an all-terrain vehicle.
The Taser deployment caused Grimes to crash the ATV into a parked motor vehicle. Grimes died from the crash. The appellate court noted that Grimes was 15 years old when he was killed.
Bessner claimed he believed Grimes was armed and reaching toward his waistband. However, Michigan Public, citing Associated Press reporting, reported that Grimes did not have a weapon.
The case was especially disturbing because Bessner fired the Taser from the passenger seat of a moving patrol car during a pursuit. Prosecutors argued that his conduct created a serious and unnecessary risk of death.
Bessner’s first trial in October 2018 ended with a hung jury and mistrial. He was tried again in April 2019. At the second trial, jurors acquitted him of second-degree murder but found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
According to WDIV ClickOnDetroit, prosecutors introduced another chase video that appeared to show Bessner speaking about wanting to use his Taser on another person. The Michigan Court of Appeals later found that evidence relevant to showing motive, intent, plan, or system.
The appellate court also noted that Bessner had specialized Taser training and had been warned by superiors to be more careful with Taser use. The court said there was an “unquestionable” fall risk because Grimes was on a moving ATV approaching a parked vehicle when Bessner deployed the Taser.
On May 13, 2019, Bessner was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison. Michigan Public reported that Judge Margaret Van Houten went above the sentencing guidelines, saying cases like Grimes’s death cause the public to distrust police officers.
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Bessner’s conviction and sentence in April 2021. The court rejected his arguments over excluded evidence, other-acts evidence, and the sentence imposed by the trial court.
After the conviction, the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards revoked Bessner’s law enforcement officer license because of the felony involuntary manslaughter conviction.
Grimes’s family also pursued civil litigation. Associated Press reporting carried by WILX said the family reached a $12 million settlement in a lawsuit against state troopers.
The criminal case ended with a rare prison sentence for an on-duty killing by a police officer. Damon Grimes was a teenager on an ATV. Mark Bessner fired a Taser from a moving patrol car, Grimes crashed and died, and a jury found the former trooper criminally responsible.
