CRAWFORD COUNTY – According to a statement from the Michigan State Police (MSP), on Feb. 3, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m., a trooper and a cadet from the Houghton Lake Post responded to a vehicle in the ditch on northbound I-75, north of the West Federal Highway exit in Beaver Creek Township. It appeared the vehicle been had driven off the left side of the freeway and into the ditch.
Preliminary investigation indicates the trooper made contact with the driver and believed him to be intoxicated. During the interaction, the trooper fired his service weapon, striking and killing 48-year-old David Alan Stockton of Tawas.
Stockton was pronounced dead at the scene. The trooper and cadet were not injured. The statement said detectives recovered a handgun from Stockton’s vehicle.
The MSP Forensic Science Laboratory from Grayling and the MSP Third District Investigative Response Team, out of Flint, responded to the scene to conduct the investigation, which is ongoing at this time.
Nothing in the statement indicated whether troopers were wearing body cameras, or if there was video of the incident.
Per department protocol, the trooper is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. When complete, the investigation will be forwarded to the prosecutor for review.
