The man killed Wednesday night in South Bend in a chase with Michigan State Troopers had drawn his gun on a trooper in Niles moments earlier.
The trooper had stopped 32-year-old South Bend native Joshua Ringle for a blown brake light on Indiana 933, pulling him over in the Green Stem parking lot. The trooper then tried to arrest Ringle when he discovered he was wanted on a warrant for assault.
Those are some of the new details Michigan State Police have released in the case. Here’s what happened in that Niles parking lot, police say:
Ringle broke free from the trooper as he tried to arrest him and they fought, and he made his way back to his car, where a female passenger sat in the front seat. The trooper shot his Taser toward Ringle. Then Ringle pulled out a gun. The trooper then aimed his gun at Ringle and ordered him to drop his weapon.
But Ringle then drove out of the parking lot and headed south, starting a high-speed chase into Indiana. He ultimately crashed into a South Bend police cruiser blocking his path on Michigan Street near McDonald’s. From there Ringle ran toward the St. Joseph River where shots were fired. He was found shot to death at the bottom of a river bank. Police have not said whether Ringle fired shots.
Michigan State Police were still withholding the names of the two troopers involved in the shooting late Friday. They have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
