Sovereign Citizen Fatally Shot in Encounter with Michigan Police
Michigan State Police fatally shot a man who claimed to be an antigovernment 鈥渟overeign citizen鈥� late last week after he sped away from a traffic stop, authorities report.
The victim was identified as Richard Parent, 37, of Flat Rock, Mich.
The incident appears to be the latest example in a growing list of encounters in the United States 鈥撯�撀爉any of them deadly 鈥撯�撀燽etween police and sovereign citizens who believe they don鈥檛 have to follow state and federal laws.
In the most recent incident, state police attempted to stop Parent鈥檚 pickup truck shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday in Taylor, Mich., after suspecting he wasn鈥檛 wearing a seat belt, state police spokesman Lt. Mike Shaw said.
Parent refused to identify himself or provide a driver鈥檚 license, 鈥渃laiming to be a 鈥榮overeign citizen鈥� when troopers initially stopped him,鈥� and other Michigan media reported.
When he聽refused orders to step out of his vehicle, police smashed a rear window in a failed attempt to remove Parent from the vehicle. At that point, Parent sped away in his truck, driving through a residential neighborhood in a chase that eventually moved to Interstate 94.
As they chased the suspect鈥檚 car, state police caused his vehicle spin out, Shaw said, and Parent jumped from his truck and ran to a nearby tree line where he assumed a shooting stance, armed with a 9mm Glock handgun, Shaw said.
It鈥檚 unknown if Parent fired on officers聽before he was shot by state police, according to various media accounts. He later died at an area hospital.聽
