At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 1982, Tpr. Craig A. Scott was working traffic patrol on US-127 just south of the Ingham/Jackson County line. At about this time, he observed a red 1974 Camaro speeding northbound on the highway. Trooper Scott gave pursuit and stopped the car south of Leslie, Michigan. He approached the driver and asked for his driver’s license and vehicle papers. The driver produced a Michigan Identification Card and no papers for the Camaro, which he and the vehicle’s front seat passenger had stolen in Ann Arbor four days earlier. Both suspects had extensive criminal records, and both were wanted for auto theft and rape at the time of the Scott shooting.
After receiving the identification, Trooper Scott attempted to file check the driver, but could not contact the post on his prep radio. He recontacted the driver, informed him that he was under arrest, took him from the car, and handcuffed him. While placing the driver in the patrol car, Trooper Scott left his back exposed to the Camaro. The front seat passenger was able to sneak from the Camaro to a distance of three to four feet from Trooper Scott, from which point he shot the officer three times with a .38 caliber revolver. Although Trooper Scott was mortally wounded, he was able to return fire at the Camaro as it fled from the scene.
The two suspects and three female passengers drove into Leslie, where they stole a blue 1981 Cutlass at gun point. This robbery was immediately reported to the police. The suspects were headed for Jackson when they were stopped in the stolen Cutlass by officers from the Ingham County Sheriff’s Department and arrested without incident.
Through investigation and taped statements from eyewitnesses, it was proven that both suspects were principals in the murder of Trooper Scott. On August 18, 1982, both were sentenced to life prison terms on the charge by the Ingham County Circuit Court.
Trooper Scott was the 35th MSP officer to die in the line of duty.