Convention 2020 P.O. Of The Year Award: Kirk Carter, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department

Deputy Kirk Carter

Midday on April 17, 2019, in Summit Township in Jackson County, a domestic dispute began when a minor was dropped off at his mother’s house by his father. At the time, the suspect lived the same house with the mother. The suspect became confrontational and began yelling at the woman when he discovered the father was there to drop off the child. The suspect became physically abusive, throwing the woman down onto the floor, pinning her, and began demanding a large sum of money for him to leave. The suspect abruptly got off of the woman and went upstairs.

Fearful the suspect would assault and harm her again and fearing for the safety of her minor child, the woman quickly and quietly escaped from the residence while the suspect was in the bathroom running bathwater. The woman decided to enlist help from a friend of the suspect, and the suspect’s family to get him to leave the home. The suspect became verbally hostile over the phone when the woman told him again to leave her residence. Finally, the woman decided that the suspect had no right to keep her away from her own home, so she called 911.

It was at the point the Deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, including Deputy Kirk Carter, responded to the 911 call. During this time, deputies discovered there was a felony warrant out for the arrest of the suspect.

When the deputies arrived, they told the suspect to leave the victim’s residence, which he refused to do. Deputy Carter, along with the other deputies, entered the home and cleared it room by room until the last room left was an upstairs bedroom. Deputy Carter was the first officer to enter the room when the suspect immediately shot him in the right leg and left hand.

Regardless of his injuries, Deputy Carter began to fire back at the suspect. The other deputies also fired on the suspect who has hidden in the closet. Deputy Carter then applied his own tourniquet on his leg, and he was safely removed from the residence where he was treated for his wounds. The suspect died of his wounds.

Deputy Carter, for your bravery in your pursuit of the safety and welfare of your community, the Police Officers Association of Michigan honors you with the 2019 Police Officer of the Year award.