AG Reviews Fatal July 2025 Otisville Shooting by Michigan State Police, Finds Troopers Acted in Defense of Self and Others

LANSING – Today, the Michigan Department of Attorney General announced it has concluded its review of the officer-involved shooting death (PDF) of James Jennings, then 54, of Otisville, on July 31^st, 2025, without issuing charges against the Michigan State Police Troopers involved, finding they acted in self-defense and defense of fellow officers and bystanders. It is the policy of the Michigan State Police (MSP) to send all officer-involved shootings to the Department of Attorney General for review.

On the afternoon of July 31^st, 2025, Michigan State Police Troopers responded to a 9-1-1 call and met a woman near Jennings’ residence reporting Jennings had attacked her in his home, from which she escaped. Troopers documented the victim’s injuries and reached Jennings by phone, attempting at length to convince him to exit his home peaceably to meet with responding Troopers. Jennings refused, telling Troopers he was “dug in” and “hunkered down,” and that he was not going to jail or prison. Knowing Jennings had numerous firearms in the home, responding Troopers requested assistance from the MSP Emergency Support Team and established a security perimeter around Jennings’ home.

The Emergency Support Team began arriving on-scene at 5:30 p.m. and continued, by phone, negotiating Jennings’ surrender. Police vehicle public address systems were used to additionally convey MSP demands that Jennings exit the home, advising him he was under arrest and making assurances of his safety if he did so. The Team employed several non-lethal measures to effectuate Jennings’ surrender including siren activations, flash-bang devices, and pepper balls. Specialty vehicles were deployed to ram the front door and otherwise breach the second story of the home wherein Jennings remained.

Jennings fired a single shot at Troopers at 6:54 p.m. Police did not return gun fire, and proceeded deploying non-lethal means, such as projectile pepper spray, and again making announcements asking Jennings to vacate the house and that in doing so he would not be harmed. Jennings resumed firing, targeting Troopers and their occupied vehicles, forcing the Troopers to return fire to defend themselves and fellow officers. Numerous public bystanders were directly in Jennings’ path of fire, and one of his shots entered a neighbor’s occupied home, narrowly missing the resident inside. From 6:54 p.m. to 7:09 p.m., Jennings opened fire on Troopers four distinct times, and five Troopers of the MSP Emergency Support Team returned fire. At 7:09 p.m., relying on radio transmissions describing Jennings’ location, Troopers shot into the home, including through the roof and walls, into the area from which Jennings was shooting. Jennings was killed in an attic space, surrounded by multiple firearms and ammunition magazines, having suffered four gunshot wounds.

The Michigan State Police Emergency Support Team was created in 1974 to handle highly dangerous and critical incidents facing law enforcement. This unit utilizes equipment and training necessary for extremely difficult and/or dangerous tasks in such areas as hostage rescue, barricaded gunmen, high risk arrest and search warrant service, VIP security, and counterterrorism. The Emergency Support Team contains tactical and negotiator sub-units. The tactical and negotiator components participate in joint training and work as a cohesive unit in operational calls. Team members include troopers, sergeants and lieutenants from posts and sections throughout the state, averaging 60 members. Officers are activated according to their proximity to the location of the request.

Under MSP policy, all officer-involved shootings are first assigned to investigators from a different district than where the incident occurred. The initial investigation was conducted by the MSP Second District Special Investigation Section, which then referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General.

Attorneys at the Department of Attorney General reviewed Michigan State Police Reports, signed statements from MSP Troopers on-scene, body-worn camera footage, video footage from police vehicles, the Genesee County Medical Examiner’s report, scene diagrams, MSP’s Use of Force policies, and other material.

The legal issue in this case was whether the MSP Troopers acted in a legal manner during their interaction with Jennings when they used deadly force by discharging their weapons. Law enforcement officers have the same privilege of self-defense as anyone else and have the lawful authority to use force to protect the public welfare. An officer’s decision about the level of force necessary to control an individual will be based on the officer’s perception of the threat and the subject’s apparent ability to carry out that threat.

Here, under all of the facts and circumstances presented, the Department concluded that the Michigan State Police Troopers acted in self-defense, and in defense of their fellow responding Troopers and public bystanders, when they fatally shot James Jennings, who had fired on Troopers several times including in the direction of bystanders and into a neighboring residence.

The Department of Attorney General is available to lead or support any investigation of an officer-involved shooting at the request of any county prosecutor or law enforcement agency within the state and today renews this commitment and offer.

A full report detailing the Michigan Department of Attorney General review can be found here (PDF).

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