By Cortney Casey
C & G Staff Writer

STERLING HEIGHTS — Internal and external investigations have determined that the use of deadly force was justified in an officer-involved shooting at the Durham Apartments.

On July 12, two Sterling Heights officers opened fire on Roy Lee Long, 30, after Long allegedly refused to relinquish his 12-gauge shotgun while advancing upon police.

The Sterling Heights Police Investigations Division and the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office looked into the situation, per standard protocol for an officer-involved shooting, and ruled that the officers’ actions were not improper.

“We have to conduct an investigation into the death, just like any other death investigation,” said Sterling Heights Police Lt. Robert Henigan. “The prosecutor’s office has to conduct its own investigation into that death and whether that use of force was appropriate. There’s also an administrative investigation by the department that we followed all our rules and procedures.”

In cases like this, the prosecutor’s office reviews evidence from the scene, witness statements, police reports and autopsy reports, said Assistant Prosecutor James Langtry.

“Then we make a finding as to whether the shooting was justified,” he said. “Basically, our finding was that the two officers had probable cause to believe that Mr. Long posed a significant threat of death to themselves, other officers at the scene, as well as the surrounding neighborhood at the apartment complex.”

The shooting occurred after officers responded to a domestic incident in the 37000 block of Durham, in the 16 1/2 Mile and Van Dyke area, around 6:45 a.m. A female resident reportedly told police that Long, her live-in boyfriend, had threatened to kill her cat during a verbal altercation.

As the woman spoke to the police outside, Long allegedly emerged from the apartment with the shotgun and, ignoring repeated orders to drop the weapon, continued to approach his girlfriend and officers.

The two officers fired several shots after Long appeared to raise the shotgun in the direction of law enforcement personnel, according to police. Neither the woman nor officers were injured in the incident.

“The officers’ statements were confirmed by several independent eyewitnesses that lived in the apartment complex,” said Langtry. “He approached the officers at a fairly quick pace, refused to put down his weapon, and in fact leveled the weapon toward the officers. They repeatedly told him to drop the weapon.”

Langtry said Long, wielding the shotgun, screamed profanities while demanding that the officers shoot him.

Both Langtry and Henigan said toxicology tests indicated Long had no narcotics in his system, but had a high blood alcohol level that would have exceeded twice the legal limit had he been driving.

In the course of the investigation, officers found “no clear explanation” for Long’s actions, said Henigan.

“But what he did was put the officers into an impossible situation where he forced the outcome,” he said.

Henigan praised witnesses in the Durham Apartment complex for assisting with the investigations, calling their cooperation “tremendous.”

The two officers who fatally wounded Long returned to duty Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, said Henigan. The pair had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigations’ conclusion, per standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting.

You can reach Staff Writer Cortney Casey at ccasey@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1046.