DETROIT – Hundreds of people showed up to a vigil Wednesday night, furious over the death of a 15-year-old boy who fled Michigan State Police troopers on his ATV, was stunned by a Taser and died in a crash.
The candlelight vigil was supposed to show support for Damon Grimes, but it ended up getting out of hand.
What happened to Damon is now the subject of a $50 million lawsuit against the Michigan State Police trooper who is accused of causing the boy's death.
Friends and family members were among those who gathered for the vigil, some of them around Damon's age.
ATV four-wheelers aren't legally supposed to be driven on Detroit city streets, but neighbors said that law isn't usually enforced.
The intersection where Damon died was packed with people. An MSP trooper saw the teenager riding around Saturday and tried to get him to pull over. Damon wouldn't stop, so the trooper chased him and, according to police, stunned him by Taser from the squad car window, which is against policy.
Damon kept riding and tried to get on the sidewalk, but he ended up plowing into the back of a pickup truck.
He died at the hospital.
"It shouldn't have to be like this," said Monique Grimes, Damon's mother. "He was only 15. He enjoyed riding his bike. He wasn't like he committed any crimes. I just want justice for Dae Dae."
"As a family, we're going to survive this, but we're going to get through it," said Gale, Damon's grandmother. "He will be missed. His soul will always and forever be in our hearts."
The family wanted a remembrance of Damon, but it quickly got out of hand, as a small group of young men were trying to incite a problem. They began chanting, "F--- the police" as stoic officers tried to diffuse the situation.
Damon's family members told them to stop, but it was a tense half hour until the crowd finally moved on.
Police at one point had to close down Gratiot Avenue.
You can watch Mara MacDonald's full story in the video posted above.