A Michigan police officer was charged with a misdemeanor and fired from his job after allegedly hitting and killing a pedestrian. Officer Eugene Anderson Jr. of Benton Township was reportedly driving 30 mph above the speed limit of 35 mph when he struck and killed a woman crossing a four-lane road on Sept. 20.
Though Anderson was en route to a call about a domestic disturbance, he failed to activate his lights or siren as the law requires an officer to do. "Absent the siren and emergency lights, the driver of an emergency vehicle is then bound by the speed laws as any motorist would be," Prosecutor Michael Sepic said in a news release.
Because the Michigan legislature has done away with the charge of negligent homicide, the only charge that Anderson is facing is a moving violation causing death — a charge that M Live reports has a "maximum sentence of one year in jail." Aside from Anderson's speeding, Sepic said that there was "no other evidence of negligence" to bring the other potential charge, reckless driving causing death, which is a 15-year felony. "He wasn't texting or using a cell phone or eating a sandwich," Sepic said.
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The Benton Charter Township Police Department said they fired Anderson "as a result of violations of department policies and/or rules and regulations he committed stemming from the on-duty traffic fatality."
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