Video of fatal police chase released • Man killed while serving eviction notice • 2024 NACTOY awards

THURSDAY NEWS HIT - Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer says his officers were following procedure during a chase that ended with a fatal crash.

Officers stopped a 24-year-old man in the area of Van Dyke and Stephens on Dec. 26 for an expired license plate. When they asked him for his license, he fled.

Police pursued the driver until he ran a red light at 10 Mile and Ryan and crashed into a box truck. He was killed in the crash.

"We all feel bad that someone lost their life, but the officers are out there doing their jobs, and if he would have stopped, he would be with us today," Dwyer said. "The subject is dead due to the choice he made to flee from the officers."

After the chase, police learned the man had a warrant for his arrest. They also found a loaded stolen gun in the car.

Court officer murdered while serving eviction notice

Serving an eviction notice last week turned deadly for a man just doing his job.

Bob Silver worked for St. Clair County for 35 years. On Dec. 28, he was at the home of Clay Township resident who was being evicted. That resident, 49-year-old Michael Stickler, is accused of shooting and killing Silver. 

After Clay Township police found Silver dead, there was a short standoff with Stickler. He would eventually be taken into custody and charged with murder.

"His mother and sister just passed away," Lisa Fowler said. "He was supposed to be at the funeral that day that it happened."

Fowler is a bartender at Moose Lodge 158 in Port Huron, where Silver and his family were regulars. 

"It's just mind blowing that somebody would do that," she said. "I've known him. I've been here eight years. He plays pool every Tuesday night downstairs. Great guy."

Officials tout Detroit's falling homicide rate

The Detroit Police Department recorded its lowest homicide rate since 1966 last year with 252 people killed. It's an 18.4% drop since 2022, bringing the city's murder rate down from the surge in violence that came with the Covid pandemic.

But for Chief James White, the encouraging results came in many other forms. The areas of the city with the highest crime rates saw the steepest declines. The department acquired more money to hire back officers that had left for police departments outside Detroit.

It's ONE Detroit Partnership with U.S. Attorneys office targeted people with criminal backgrounds and gave them options for becoming productive citizens. The Wayne County Circuit Court chief judge ramped up prosecution of felony gun crimes, lowering the number of delayed cases from 4,000 to 500.

White also reported encouraging results out of the city's Criminal Violence Initiative (CVI), which tasked six community groups with using strategies beyond just arrests to lower rates of violence. FORCE Detroit, Detroit Friends and Family, and Detroit Peoples Community recorded a 50% drop in homicides in their areas.

NACTOY 2024 winners to be announced 

The winners of the 2024 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards will be revealed on Thursday.

Last year's winners included the Acura Integra in the car of the year category, Ford F-150 Lightning in the truck category, and the Kia EV6 in the utility vehicle category.

Among this year's finalists are five electric vehicles, including the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Chevrolet Silverado EV, Genesis Electrified GV70, Kia EV9, and Hyundai Kona EV.

Five Lions named to 2024 Pro Bowl

Five Detroit Lions players have been named to the 2024 Pro Bowl with seven more as alternates.

The Detroit Lions have not only won their first division in 30 years and with a week left in the regular season, has a high playoff seeding no matter how the regular season finale ends on Sunday.

The five players chosen are defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, tight end Sam LaPorta, center Frank Ragnow, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (special teams) and tackle Penei Sewell.  It is the first selection for Hutchinson, LaPorta and Reeves-Maybin.

The seven alternates are receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (first alternate),  running back Jahmyr Gibbs (first alternate), quarterback Jared Goff (second alternate), guard Jonah Jackson (third alternate), running back David Montgomery (fourth alternate), kick returner Kalif Raymond (fourth alternate), and linebacker Alex Anzalone (fifth alternate).

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Daily Forecast

Expect cold temperatures Thursday with some snow flurries possible earlier in the day.

What else we're watching

1. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said syphilis cases have spiked across the state. The numbers of the bacterial infection are highest in Detroit.
2. The Samantha Woll evidence hearing later this month will include a "lengthy exam" with 12 witnesses. Michael Jackson-Bolanos is charged with murdering the well-known Jewish leader in her Detroit home.
3. Ollie the sea otter, a beloved member of the Detroit Zoo and a fan favorite among both staff and guests, has died.
4. Michigan cheeses recently took home awards from the 2023 World Cheese Awards. Leelanau Cheese Co. and Idyll Farms both had cheeses win.
5. Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, wants three witnesses barred from testifying at her trial. Her defense argues that their testimony about what happened inside the school is "irrelevant" to the case and would "inflame the passions of a jury."

Jeffrey Epstein documents released

Dozens of previously sealed court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein were made public late Wednesday, as a court releases more records from a years-old lawsuit connected to the late financier.

They’re likely to disappoint sleuths online, where the plan to release documents prompted rumors of a list of "clients" or "co-conspirators." In fact, the judge who made the call wrote in December that she was ordering the records released because much of the information within them is already public.

The first 40 documents, of around 250 expected to eventually be unsealed, largely mention figures whose names were already known, including high-profile friends of Epstein’s and victims who have spoken publicly.

Read more here.