‘I’ve been drinking,’ Comstock Twp fire official says after hitting a girl with his pickup truck
By: Comstock Township, MI - The Comstock Township fire department deputy chief told investigators he would fail a field sobriety test after deputies say he hit a girl with his pickup truck, body camera video shows.
Just after midnight on June 22, deputies with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office were sent to the area of E H Avenue and Berry Street after a child had been hit by a vehicle.
In deputies’ bodycam video, 11-year-old La’shae Parker, who had been hit by a gray 2020 Ford F450, can be seen sitting in a vehicle with several people surrounding it. According to the police report, she was taken to the hospital for treatment and needed surgery for her injuries. La’shae told News 8 that she had a fractured hand and her knee has a steel plate and screws in it.
The driver of the pickup, 63-year-old Michael David Dyer, can be seen in the bodycam video waiting near the tailgate of the truck.
“I’ve been drinking,” Dyer can be heard telling the deputy. “I just came from the bar. I (was) going home.”
The video shows he went on to tell deputies that he had three single gin and tonics at dinner before driving home, and confirmed that he is the Comstock Township fire department deputy chief.
While talking with Dyer, the deputy can be heard telling him that La’shae is going to be alright, but her hand is a “little messed up.”
In the police report, the deputy reported Dyer smelled of alcohol and that he was having a hard time balancing.
The deputy asked Dyer if he could perform a field sobriety test. Dyer said he would not pass it, but agreed to do it anyway, the video shows. He can then be seen completing the field sobriety test.
The police report says that after a few tests, deputies did not make Dyer perform the one-legged stand because they were concerned that he might fall and hurt himself. Deputies can be seen performing a preliminary breath test on Dyer, which read 0.155 BAC, according to police reports.
As he was handcuffed and placed in the patrol vehicle, Dyer could be heard in the video confirming with deputies that La’shae was going to be alright.
“Yeah, she’s going to be alright,” the deputy can be heard saying.
Once at the Kalamazoo County Jail, his BAC tests were 0.158 and 0.146. Michigan’s legal limit to drive is .08.