Charges dropped against man arrested in Mich. officer's death
DETROIT — A Michigan prosecutor dropped criminal charges Wednesday against the man accused of killing a Wayne State University police officer last month.
In a news conference that lasted less than four minutes, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said officers are literally working around the clock to find Collin Rose's killer. DeAngelo L. Davis, 31, of Detroit is expected to be released Wednesday from jail.
"He is no longer a suspect at this time," said Worthy, who was flanked by Detroit Police Chief James Craig and Wayne State University Chief Anthony Holt.
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Worthy answered no questions from reporters at the news conference in her office at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit.
In a news release, the prosecutor's office said, "As a result of the investigation, DeAngelo Davis has been eliminated as a suspect in the case."
"After a review of new evidence, prosecutors and the police have determined that DeAngelo Davis is not a suspect in the death" of Rose, the statement reads. "The Homicide Task Force, comprised of the Detroit Police Department and the Michigan State Police, continues to aggressively commit their time and resources to investigate the death. ... For this reason, we are not at liberty to provide further details about the dismissed case and the ongoing investigation."
Rose was shot in the head Nov. 22 in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood, just west of Wayne State's Midtown campus, authorities said.
The 29-year-old officer died a day later.
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Davis was arrested hours after the shooting and was held in jail without bond. Police said at the time that Rose stopped Davis and was trying to take Davis into custody when Rose was shot. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office had said Davis, who was riding a bicycle, shot the officer in the head, then fled on foot. Davis had been charged with first-degree murder, murder of a police officer, felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm, as well as being a habitual offender.
Holt has said he wasn't aware of a weapon being recovered. Wednesday's news release said it is still believed that Rose was investigating someone who had been riding a bicycle.
Davis has a history of being combative with police officers, court records show. He was charged in 2011 with two charges of felony assault involving a police officer, one causing injury, and pleaded guilty, resulting in a 53-day jail sentence, the records show. In 2009, he was charged with assault/resisting/obstructing police officers with the Taylor Police Department.
Rose was a canine officer who was hired by the Wayne State police department in March 2011.
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Craig said there is a $15,000 reward for information that helps solve the case.
"We are optimisitic," said Craig. "We are going to continue to move forward."
Contributing: Robert Allen, Detroit Free Press. Follow Jim Schaefer on Twitter: @DetroitReporter