No charges in Ypsilanti police shooting of John Jenuwine

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office will not file criminal charges against the deputies who fatally shot John Jenuwine after a police chase.

Jenuwine, 34, of China Township, was killed Jan. 6, 2026, on Prospect Street near Towner Street in Ypsilanti. The Michigan Department of Attorney General announced its decision Nov. 5 after reviewing a Michigan State Police investigation.

The department said the deputies acted lawfully in self-defense. Their mistaken belief that Jenuwine had a gun was reasonable “based on the totality of the circumstances as they knew them,” the department said.

According to the department’s account, 911 callers reported a white construction van speeding and being driven erratically. One caller reported that an occupant had displayed a gun, though callers gave conflicting descriptions of the occupants. Dispatch told deputies the reports likely concerned the same van.

Deputies found Jenuwine driving a white van without headlights around 1:53 a.m. He fled an attempted traffic stop, beginning a chase that lasted about 14 minutes. The department said he repeatedly reversed toward patrol vehicles and sometimes drove on the wrong side of the road.

Behind an elementary school, a deputy drove into the van to try to stop it, but Jenuwine drove away. A deputy later hit the van with a patrol vehicle in a maneuver that caused it to roll onto its side.

As deputies approached, one shouted that Jenuwine had a gun and another repeated the warning. Three deputies fired approximately 34 shots over seven seconds. Investigators found no firearm in the van.

Deputies continued to see movement and treated the scene as a barricaded gunman situation. Officers tried to contact Jenuwine by megaphone and telephone before entering the van around 4 a.m. and finding him dead.

The department said the Washtenaw County medical examiner found seven gunshot wounds, two of which would have caused death within seconds to minutes.

Jenuwine’s family filed a federal lawsuit in June in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. An amended complaint alleges excessive force and a failure to provide timely medical care. The family’s attorneys have argued that he could have survived with prompt treatment. According to the attorney general’s memorandum, the medical examiner could not say whether earlier intervention would have changed the outcome.

The attorney general’s office said its review concerned potential criminal violations and did not examine civil lawsuits. Its decision does not resolve the family’s allegations.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said its internal investigation would continue and four deputies would remain on leave pending that review.

Can a civil lawsuit proceed without criminal charges?

Yes, if the evidence supports a civil claim. A prosecutor’s decision not to file charges doesn’t decide whether an officer violated someone’s constitutional rights. Federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, provides a way to seek relief when a state or local official acting under governmental authority violates federal rights.

Civil and criminal cases also have different burdens of proof. A civil plaintiff generally must show that liability is more likely than not, while prosecutors must prove a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

A claim involving force during a stop or arrest is judged under the Fourth Amendment’s objective reasonableness standard, from the perspective of a reasonable officer at the scene. In Barnes v. Felix, the U.S. Supreme Court held that courts must consider all relevant circumstances, including events leading up to the force, rather than limiting review to the instant an officer perceived a threat.

Michigan Legal Center’s explanation of police brutality and excessive force in Michigan describes how the threat, resistance and amount of force affect that review.