By The Grand Rapids Press staff
November 18, 2009, 4:12AM

EAST GRAND RAPIDS — As Stephen Bolick replayed the scene of his son’s death, he said the details did not add up.

Why, Bolick asked, did it take police three or four Taser stun gun shots to subdue 30-year-old Matthew Bolick, who, at 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighed just 135 pounds?

Matthew Bolick
Bolick, described by his family as a loving brother and caring son who loved jazz and camping with friends and was a year away from a bachelor’s degree in meteorology at Central Michigan University, died Monday night while in the custody of East Grand Rapids public safety officers.

The East Grand Rapids resident was shot by a Taser three or four times after he allegedly struck a police officer in the face outside his family’s home, 2110 Heather St. SE, shortly before he died about 9:45 p.m. Monday.

Police and an ambulance were dispatched to the home shortly after 9 p.m., after Stephen Bolick said he called 911 to report injuries his son suffered after he went through a ground-floor picture window.

“The initial 911 call was for help, not an arrest and certainly not for the use of Tasers,” Stephen Bolick said Tuesday night. “I said, ‘I need to get this kid to the hospital.’”

Family members struggled to cope with the loss. Gathered at the home of his 27-year-old sister, Kellie Kettner, they shared stories about an energetic man who was quick with a joke and committed to social justice.

“He had a lust and joy for life,” she said of her brother. “He enjoyed life on a daily basis.”

An autopsy Tuesday determined Bolick did not experience internal trauma from the incident, authorities said.

Forensic pathologist Dr. David Start said there was no indication the Taser caused Bolick’s death. Toxicology tests and exams of his heart, lungs and tissue are pending, but the struggle left no internal injuries or head wounds, Start said.

Bolick’s injuries were consistent with puncture wounds from the Taser probes, with cuts from jumping through the window and scratches from wrestling with officers, Grand Rapids Police Capt. Jeff Hertel said.

It likely will be several weeks before toxicology results are available, Start said.

At a news conference Tuesday, East Grand Rapids Public Safety Chief Mark Herald said two of the department’s veteran officers arrived Monday night outside the Bolick family’s home when Matthew Bolick confronted them and hit one in the face.

Bolick was struck once with a Taser “with no apparent effect” and then ran into the home where “there was a lot of wrestling around,” he said.

Bolick was hit with the Taser again before Grand Rapids police arrived. An ambulance crew called in to treat Bolick’s injury from the broken window helped officers treat him at the scene.

Bolick is the East Grand Rapids department’s first in-custody death, Herald said.

The incident also was the first time any East Grand Rapids officer had used one of the Tasers, purchased in January, he said. Tasers fire electrically charged darts to temporarily immobilize a subject.

Asked when officers can use the device, Herald said: “They can deploy the Taser whenever there is active resistance.”

The two East Grand Rapids officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such cases, he said.

“There is some indication (Bolick’s) behavior pattern has become more unstable over the past couple of weeks,” Grand Rapids Police Chief Kevin Belk said.

Grand Rapids officers searched Bolick’s home after his arrest, but Belk declined to say what, if any, evidence was found inside.

Herald said the Tasers are equipped with video cameras that record incidents and that two police cars on the scene also had cameras.

The Grand Rapids police’s major case team and internal affairs are investigating the death.

Bolick had a pair of 1999 charges in Portage and pleaded guilty to misdemeanors of failure to display a license and being a minor in possession of alcohol, according to Michigan State Police records.

Tears welled for Stephen Bolick as he described the incident and losing a son who “would never hurt anybody.”

“When he came into my house, he was alive,” Bolick said. “When he came out he was dead.”

Funeral services are 11 a.m. Saturday at First Evangelical Free Church, 3950 Burton St. SE. Visitation is 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdayat Zaagman Memorial Chapel, 2800 Burton St. SE.

Survivors include his parents, Stephen and Ann Bolick; two sisters, Kettner and Allison Helmholdt; and two brothers, Kevin Bolick and Jonathan Bolick.

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