The Michigan Attorney General’s office has charged a off-duty DeWitt police officer with felony charges connected to a 2021 incident with a Black teen, where he pulled a gun out on him twice without reasonable cause. The teen also has secured legal representation and filed his own federal civil lawsuit.
According to a press release from the state attorney general Dana Nessel, officer Chad Vorce was arraigned on Thursday, April 7, on the below:
- One count of misconduct in office, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or $10,000
- Felonious assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and/or $2,000
- Felony firearm possession: a felony punishable by two years consecutively with and preceding any term of imprisonment imposed for the felony or attempted felony conviction in a Clinton County District Court.
Vorce initially was fired for these crimes, but reinstated months later after the department said “he has learned his lesson” and showed a “genuine demonstration of remorse” for his actions.
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The state believes a court of law should determine this.
The AG’s investigation found Vorce, who was not on duty at the time of the incident, broke the law when he pulled a gun out on Alexander Hamilton, a 19-year-old paperboy on Jan. 14, 2021, despite his belief the boy was “driving erratically in his neighborhood.”
Nessel said, “Our assessment of this incident showed dangerous behavior exhibited by Mr. Vorce. Those who swear to protect and serve must do so responsibly. We will not hesitate to hold accountable those who violate that oath.”
A day after these charges were made, Hamilton filed his own federal lawsuit, alleging the 18-year-veteran officer and his colleagues violated his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights by the use of excessive force, illegal seizure, false arrest and false imprisonment on that early spring morning.
He also alleged these state authorities racially discriminated —pointing to Vorce identifying him by race when reporting the incident to others.
The lawsuit, which plays off the young man’s name by using a rendering of the opening song of the Hamilton Broadway musical based on the founding father with the same name, records the teen was on an assigned route to drop off papers when he encountered the off-duty officer.
His lawyer Dustyn Coontz explains his client was in the area of Shadybrook Lane and Driftwood Drive, which is in Watertown Township, Clinton County, around 7:15 a.m., on the day of the altercation only to perform his job’s duties. Vorce saw the teen’s minivan while he was taking his child to school and determined he was “driving in a manner that he claims to have been suspicious.”
“According to Vorce, there had been some theft-related crimes in his neighborhood recently,” the lawsuit states. “Upon seeing a ‘frickin’ Black guy’ in a black hoodie, Vorce became even more suspicious that Hamilton was a potential criminal.”
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