Two police officers have been cleared of any criminal wrong-doing in the shooting death of a man in Jackson County's Columbia Township last month. Jackson County Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka released an 8-page statement Friday afternoon detailing his reasons for clearing Columbia Township Police Officer Joe Lalli and Napoleon Township Police Officer Shane LaPorte in the death of Terry Lynn Maurer on June 26, 2016.
In the statement's conclusion, Jarzynka says, "Based upon a review of the facts and the law, it is clear that Mr. Mauer presented an immedate danger of death or great bodily harm to Officer Joe Lalli and Officer Shane LaPorte. As such, Officer Lalli acted properly in defense of himself and his backup officer when he shot at Mr. Maurer outside of the garage at 8111 Clark Lake Road."
On June 26, the officers responded to a call for a domestic disturbance at the residence on Clark Road. In the prosecutor's statement officers and witnesses indicated Terry Lynn Maurer was not obeying commands, and soon chased at the officers in an "aggressive and threatening manner," raising an aluminum baseball bat to them. Witnesses say they heard officers repeatedly tell Maurer to drop the bat before Officer Lalli fired 6 shots, killing Maurer.
The prosecutor's report includes that Maurer had not been the subject of the domestic dispute call, but had been living in the residence's unattached garage, after being homeless for a time.
Maurer was paroled from prion in 2014 on the mental health program. He soon absconded from parole, failing to attend required meeting. Maurer had been diagnosed with schizophrenia by a psychiatrist.
