WYOMING, Mich. (WZZM) - A former Grand Rapids police officer on Wednesday was bound over on four felony charges; if convicted, Ryan Bruggink could spend the rest of his life in prison.
In district court, a former girlfriend of the Byron Center man testified he raped her at her home, as her seven-month-old infant lay nearby on the same bed. The woman said Bruggink also assaulted her on a couch after forcing his way into her home last November.
She said in testimony that she "was afraid that he was gonna fall on the baby, or if I started pushing him off he would fall on the baby, so I told him 'let's go in the other room.'"
She said she had not been dating Bruggink for months when he came to her home that night. She said he raped her at knifepoint.
Asked by the prosecutor if she called police after the attack, the alleged victim said, "No, I was scared to call the police."
"Why?"
"I don't know; I was just scared. He works for them; I just didn't know."
The victim said she was scared to call Wyoming police because Bruggink "knew people there." She said she "got the run-around" while talking with the Kent County Sheriff's Department. Eventually, the Michigan State Police came and her took her criminal complaint.
As soon as the MSP notified the GRPD about the allegations in early December, the department suspended Bruggink. He resigned from the force shortly after.
Bruggink faces three charges of criminal sexual conduct and one count of home invasion.
