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SAULT STE. MARIE -- A man wielding a hammer damaged a Michigan State Police patrol vehicle while aboard the Sugar Island Ferry and was subsequently arrested. Additionally, the suspect was arrested for resisting arrest.
According to a written statement released by Lt. Ben Eckola, Eighth District public information officer, at approximately 1:30 p.m. Sunday, an MSP trooper from the agency’s Sault Ste. Marie post, was responding to an emergency 911 call from Sugar Island.
Eckola said while responding, the trooper received information regarding a driving complaint involving a vehicle on Sugar Island. The trooper was initially unable to investigate the driving complaint due to the emergency call he was responding to.
The trooper boarded the Sugar Island Ferry to travel to the mainland. The vehicle involved in the driving complaint also boarded the ferry behind the trooper. While the ferry was underway to the mainland, an adult male exited the vehicle and began hitting the trooper's patrol vehicle with a hammer, Eckola said.
The trooper exited the patrol vehicle and took the suspect into custody. The suspect resisted arrest and assaulted the trooper while being taken into custody.
The man displayed signs of being under the influence. Following further investigation, he was charged with Operating Under the Influence of Drugs, Resisting and Obstructing a Police Officer and Assaulting a Police Officer. He was also charged with Malicious Destruction of Property-Police Vehicle.
Eckola said the man was lodged in the Chippewa County Jail. The investigation remains ongoing. The suspect's name is being withheld pending arraignment.
MSP was assisted by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Department, Sault Tribe Police Department, Chippewa County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Border Patrol.