Derek Copp, the 20-year-old Grand Valley State University student who was shot in the chest during a March 11 drug raid on his Allendale, Michigan, apartment, will be charged with an unspecified drug possession offense [17]. The Ottawa County prosecutor's office has authorized an arrest warrant, said Copp's attorney Fred Dilley.
While a Western Michigan Enforcement Team (WMET), a multi-jurisdictional anti-drug task force, raided Copp's apartment in search of evidence of drug dealing, authorities have never said exactly what -- if anything -- was recovered in the raid. Copp's attorney said early on after the raid that all that was found was a few "spoonsful" of marijuana.
Copp was not armed. He was shot once by Ottawa County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Huizenga, a WMET member and member of the SWAT team, as Huizenga came through a glass door into the apartment and encountered Copp.
Huizenga has now been charged with a misdemeanor -- careless discharge of a firearm -- and was arraigned Monday. He was first put on unpaid leave, but has now been returned to the job to perform administrative duties by the sheriff's office, which said he was reinstated because it would take a long time for the case to be heard.
The shooting of Copp led to angry protests by college students and others in the area, as well as calls for an investigation by university officials and local newspaper editorial pages. An investigation is being done, but it is being conducted by the Michigan State Police, which partners with WMET.