By Aileen Wingblad
Daily Tribune, Royal Oak, Mich.
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — A 24-year-old man who reportedly called in threats to the Farmington Hills Department and the home of a police officer’s father is jailed on a felony charge.
Shawn Bonner faces one count of false report or threat of terrorism, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. For now, he’s in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $100,000.
During his run-ins with law enforcement leading to the charge, Bonner twice used his young children as shields against officers attempting to arrest him and at one point barricaded himself in a vehicle with the kids for nearly an hour, police said. Officers eventually punched out one of the car’s windows to take Bonner into custody.
As reported by the Farmington Hills Police Department, it all stems from a traffic stop late last month when Bonner’s girlfriend was pulled over for operating a vehicle without insurance. Bonner was in the car, along with the couple’s two kids, and police determined he had an outstanding arrest warrant out of Redford for obstructing a police officer and failing to appear in court.
Bonner lied about his identity, refused to exit the car, then dove into the back seat and barricaded himself among his young children, police said. The girlfriend, Kyrstin Elliot, tried to kick at the officers and was subsequently charged with interfering with a police officer, while Bonner was charged with resisting and obstructing. At his arraignment in 47th District Court, Bonner was issued a personal bond, meaning no money had to be posted for him to stay out of jail until his next court appearance — but, as in the Redford case, he failed to show up, police said.
On June 9, Bonner called the Farmington Hills Police Department, referenced the prior incident and threatened to beat and shoot Farmington Hills officers, police said. The next day, he called one of the officer’s fathers and left a voicemail, stating the officer’s home address and said they weren’t safe, police said.
‘Lack of respect for rule of law’
Bonner was subsequently located in Redford as he rode along in a vehicle with Elliot and their children, but attempts to arrest him led to Elliot driving away from the scene, police said. Officers successfully contained their car, but again Bonner barricaded himself and “used his children as a shield to prevent his arrest,” police said. For 45 minutes, detectives tried to reason with Elliot and Bonner, police said, and eventually they used a window punch to break the glass and took Bonner into custody.
Police Chief Jeff King praised the efforts of his officers, and expressed concern from what he sees as a growing disrespect for the law and police officers.
“I am grateful to the men and women of the police department who put on the badge and serve this community with pride and honor daily,” King stated in a news release. " The Farmington Hills Police Department believes in procedural justice and conducts Constitutional policing in all its operations. In this case, Bonner disobeyed the rule of law, escalated situations that officers attempted to de-escalate, endangered his own family, and threatened officers and their families. I am concerned by the increasing lack of respect for the rule of law and law enforcement, and the confrontations it continues to create between the public and police.”
Bonner is scheduled to return to 47th District Court on June 24 for a pre-exam conference on the assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer charge from May and the threat of terrorism charge from the June incidents.
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