GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Kent County prosecutor painted a picture Thursday of a November night that started out with three friends visiting a Kentwood sports bar and ended with the death of a 34-year-old man in an officer-involved shooting.
Steven Saucier was shot and killed by a Kent County Sheriff's deputy at his Caledonia home on November 24. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker announced on Thursday, Jan. 9 that the shooting was justified.
Becker released parts of video recordings from the deputy's dash camera, a surveillance camera from inside the Saucier's home, audio recordings of the multiple 911 calls placed that night and a written opinion to give insight into his decision.
THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING
Steven and his wife Megan Saucier met up with her former coworker, Anastasia Millisor, at Dave & Buster's sports bar in Kentwood on Nov. 23. They spent several hours there before returning to the Saucier's home briefly before going back out to the Family Tavern.
At some point while at the Family Tavern, Millisor wound up with a head injury. The prosecutor said there are not any clear details on how it happened.
Bar patrons told police they did not notice anything out of the ordinary other than the fact that Millisor was 'extremely intoxicated.' At some point, Millisor was asked to leave; witnesses say she had to be helped out of the bar.
When the three returned to the Saucier home after 1 a.m., an in-home video recording shows Megan checking Millisor's head injury. According to the prosecutor's report, Megan provided Millisor with a change of clothes and discussed taking her to the hospital.
Becker writes that the demeanor in the home changed from calm to tense when Millisor and Steven get in an argument. Megan eventually took Millisor to Metro Hospital to have the head injury checked out.
According to the investigation, Millisor became paranoid at the hospital, refused treatment and blamed Megan for her injury — Becker says there is no proof that Steven or Megan had anything to do with the injury.
Megan left the hospital alone after Millisor refused to go with her. As Steven, who appears visibly intoxicated in video recordings, and Megan get ready to go to bed, a car shows up in their driveway. Steven calls 9-1-1 about the car in his driveway.
Millisor took an Uber from the hospital back to the Saucier's home to get her belongings. During the ride, Millisor called her parents and said she had been assaulted.
Her parents, Barbara and Daniel Millisor, said they made the drive from Eaton Rapids to Caledonia to help their daughter.
Chaos ensues when there's a confrontation between Steven and Millisor's parents at the Saucier's home. Multiple 9-1-1 calls were placed, the final call was placed by an "extremely belligerent'' Steven, who screamed at the dispatcher and informed him he had a gun.
"I swear to God if you come in my house and I'm going to blow you the f**** out of it," Steven told the dispatcher.
Responding deputies Elizabeth Donovan and James Davis were informed that that the homeowner had a firearm and was threatening to shoot someone with it. They arrived at the home moments later.
The in home video recording reveals that Megan alerts her husband that police have arrived.
Meanwhile, Deputy Davis, armed with a shotgun, followed Dep. Donovan to the door.
Steven Saucier answered the door, and shoves Donovan to the ground. Saucier is holding his gun in a 'low ready' position, which Donovan said was pointed in her direction.
Dep. Davis screamed at Steven to show his hands before shooting once with the shotgun, striking him in the chest and killing him.
The prosecutor said one of the more powerful pieces of evidence was Donovan telling Davis that he saved her life.
DEPUTY CLEARED
Steven had no prior record. His wife told investigators she had never seen her husband act that way.
His blood alcohol level was at .22 percent the night of his death. Becker said Thursday that Steven's alcohol consumption played a huge part in what took place.
"Unfortunately it led to his death that night, but I cannot charge the officer for behaving this way because he's got a split second decision to make: 'I got to save the life of my fellow officer,'" Becker said Thursday. "He made that choice and I cannot say it was inappropriate to make that choice."
Steven had been holding a fully loaded and cocked firearm at the time of his death.
Becker said he felt sympathy for Steven and his wife who had recently lost their dog and home in a Wyoming apartment fire. The couple had recently moved into their Caledonia home.
"I feel very sorry for Megan and what she has been through, but it still doesn't mandate criminal charges for the deputy given what Steven did that night," Becker said.
► Emma Nicolas is a multimedia journalist. Have a news tip or question for Emma? Get in touch by email, Facebook or Twitter.
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