Prosecutor stands behind officers in White Pigeon shootout

WHITE PIGEON, Mich — It's been four days since the standoff with police that left a Constantine man dead. The St. Joseph County, Mich., Prosecutor said in a news conference Tuesday that he is standing by the actions taken by police Friday night. At the news conference, Prosecutor John McDonough showed the police dashboard video of the incident that left 42-year-old Aaron McCausland dead. The video showed the entire incident, from police pulling McCausland over, to the final graphic gunshots. McDonough said everything started at Jaywalkers Bar and Restaurant in Mottville. He said McCausland got into a fight with someone, went to that person's home and, reportedly, fired one shot from his shotgun. That person then called police. Police caught up with McCausland in White Pigeon and after a short chase, McCausland parked his white pickup truck in a parking lot behind the White Pigeon Post Office. It was there police noticed he had a shotgun with a scope attached. "Officers tried for approximately seven minutes to have Mr. McCausland peacefully, exit his vehicle," McDonough said. McCausland did get out of his truck once and waved his shotgun in the air and pointed it toward police. When he got back into the truck, he raised and lowered the barrel of the shotgun several times before one deputy opened fire. The first shot missed. The deputy then fired one more shot that hit McCausland in the back of his shoulder. McCausland then got out of his truck, went to his knees and began to lower his gun. That's when another deputy shot him in the stomach. That's when McCausland returned fire, getting three shots off. One went into the ground, another into a telephone pole and the last one into a police cruiser. During that time, police managed to shoot McCausland twice more. "I think they used a tremendous amount of restraint and commend them for their patience and professional actions," McDonough said. Only two county deputies shot at McCausland, but six officers who were there are on administrative leave. One officer suffered a minor injury as he was hit by a pellet from McCausland's shotgun. Police believe McCausland had been drinking, but the toxicology report is not back. The prosecutor says McCausland was on probation for DUI last December in Michigan, and that was the only thing on his record.