ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- Lanora Kendall just wants answers to explain the shooting death of her 31-year-old relative at the hands of a state police trooper.
Relatives of Virgil-lee Taylor of Zeeland, who was shot and killed during a physical altercation with the trooper at a Hamilton area residence, say they hope for more details from state police.
“He wasn’t a bad person, not aggressive,” said Kendall, who is a cousin to Taylor’s father.
Kendall and other relatives hope Taylor’s death will be a catalyst for state police to add body cameras to their gear. There was none Monday, June 21 when Taylor was shot.
The trooper’s dashcam also was not positioned to capture the altercation, although there is audio of the incident.
Kendall said relatives are still grappling with Taylor’s death. She said he was a father to an elementary-age girl and active in her life.
Related: Man fatally shot by Michigan state trooper during scuffle was unarmed, police say
“He was really into being a father,” Kendall said, describing how he doted on her and took her to “princess parties” in the past.
The day of the shooting, Taylor and and his mother reportedly had a dispute, Kendall said. He may have been upset when he went to see his daughter at the Hamilton area home on Oak Road near 132nd Avenue.
The daughter lived there with her mother, who had been in a prior relationship with Taylor.
Taylor’s presence at the home was reported to police as a breaking-and-entering in progress at about 3 p.m.
A trooper arrived and saw Taylor in the yard.
At some point, there was a physical fight between the two. Taylor was not armed.
““Evidence from the scene indicates the physical altercation between Taylor and the trooper was prolonged and violent,” state police Lt. DuWayne Robinson said a statement earlier this week.
The trooper was able to draw his weapon and shot Taylor. He died from a single gunshot wound.
Related: ‘I was extremely saddened. I cried,’ neighbor says after trooper fatally shoots man in West Michigan
Kendall said it’s hard for relatives to believe that Taylor would act violently toward an officer.
“He isn’t the type to strike out,” she said, describing him as “respectful, an all-around good guy.”
She questions why the trooper was there alone, particularly if the report was of an in-progress breaking and entering. Kendall believes state police should have body cameras to provide more transparency.
“We don’t really know what happened and we haven’t really received the answers we want,” she said.
Police have not identified the trooper involved in the shooting. Per department policy, the trooper was placed on administrative leave while detectives from another state police district investigate the incident.
Once complete, the investigation will be forwarded to the Allegan County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
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