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Name Not Disclosed

Age :

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 08/29/2022

Location : East Baseline Road near South Oak Avenue

City : Everett Township

County : Newaygo

State : Michigan

Agency : Newaygo County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Undersheriff Chad Palmiter

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/29/2022, an unidentified man was killed when Newaygo County Undersheriff Chad Palmiter pursued a red Dodge Charger along East Baseline Road following a report of shots fired at a residence in Wilcox Township. The pursuit ended east of South Oak Avenue when the Charger crossed the centerline, left the roadway and crashed into a tree. The driver died at the scene.
Newaygo County sheriff’s deputies had initially been dispatched to a Wilcox Township residence for a report of shots fired. Police were given a description of a red Dodge Charger allegedly connected to the shooting. The publicly available accounts do not provide further details about the reported gunfire, including whether anyone was injured, what had occurred at the residence, or what evidence connected the Charger or its driver to the shooting.
Palmiter spotted a red Dodge Charger traveling east on Baseline Road. According to the sheriff’s office, he followed the vehicle and determined that it was the vehicle police were seeking. Palmiter then activated his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to stop the driver.
When the driver continued eastbound, Palmiter pursued. The available reports do not disclose the pursuit's speed, duration or total distance, how closely Palmiter followed the Charger, whether a supervisor monitored the pursuit, or whether termination of the pursuit was considered.
East of South Oak Avenue, the Charger crossed the centerline, traveled off the roadway and struck a tree. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Michigan State Police subsequently said Palmiter’s patrol vehicle did not physically collide with the Charger.
The Michigan State Police Hart Post and a Sixth District accident reconstruction specialist were called to investigate the fatal crash.
The driver's identity was initially withheld pending notification of family. A search for subsequent reporting and later publicly indexed records did not locate a reliable later identification. His age and race likewise remain undocumented in the sources located and therefore are listed as Unknown.
The later public record remains extremely limited. No publicly accessible final accident-reconstruction report, pursuit review, dash-camera footage, civil lawsuit, settlement or disciplinary finding concerning Palmiter's decision to pursue was located. The original reporting also leaves unanswered the precise basis on which Palmiter determined that the Charger he encountered was the same vehicle associated with the shots-fired complaint.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Chad Palmiter was the Newaygo County undersheriff and was specifically identified as the officer who located the Charger, attempted the traffic stop and pursued the driver before the fatal crash.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.woodtv.com/news/newaygo-county/car-chase-leads-to-crash-near-white-cloud/
https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/newaygo-police-chase-ends-in-deadly-crash/69-51fe2e0f-918b-4287-bf13-0bacc900fd7d
https://www.manisteenews.com/news/article/Police-Pursuit-Fatal-Newaygo-County-17405762.php
https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/suspect-dies-after-crashing-into-tree-while-fleeing-msp