No charges to be pressed against Fowlerville police office in death of MSU employee

By Summer Ballentine | Originally Published: 06/21/11 7:32pm |Modified: 06/22/11 11:14pm | 2 comments

No charges will be pressed against the Fowlerville, Mich., police officer involved in the automotive crash that caused the death of an East Lansing man, according to a press release from Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse.

Carl Stamm, a 20-year-old East Lansing resident and MSU employee, died May 17 after colliding his motorcycle at speeds of up to 126 mph with the officer’s police car on 1-96 near Fowlerville, according to the statement.

The motorcyclist had a blood-alcohol level of .10 at the time of his death, according to autopsy results, Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte said.

The state’s legal limit is .08.

Two Livingston County deputies pursued Stamm after clocking him at more than 100 mph, Bezotte said in a previous interview.

Both police cars activated their lights and sirens and called other local police departments for assistance, according to the statement.

A Fowlerville police officer responded to the call and entered the freeway in pursuit, activating his lights.

Stamm merged into the right lane as he approached the Fowlerville exit, prompting the Fowlerville police car to move to the left lane to allow him to pass.

The motorcyclist also moved to the left lane and the police car began merging into the right lane in response.

Stamm was unable to avoid the car at speeds of more than 100 mph and struck the vehicle, Bezotte said in a previous interview.

The Livingston County Sheriff Department submitted evidence of the incident for investigation by the Livingston County’s Prosecutor’s Office.

Morse concluded the Fowlerville police officer was not at fault, according to the statement.

“There was no criminal law violated by the officer during this incident,” Morse said in the statement.

Stamm worked at Kellogg Center in the Banquet Department, Kellogg Center General Manager Joel Heberlein said in a previous interview.

He also studied kinesiology at Lansing Community College, or LCC, said Rashid Robinson, director of academic and institutional policy at LCC, in a previous interview.

The case is closed, and the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office will take no further action in regards to this incident, according to the statement.