Trooper Craig A. Scott, 28, was killed during a traffic stop on US-127 in Ingham County on February 9, 1982. Around 1 p.m. he stopped a red 1974 Camaro just south of Leslie after observing it speeding. The driver produced a Michigan identification card but no vehicle paperwork; the Camaro had been reported stolen four days earlier from Ann Arbor.

After Trooper Scott handcuffed the driver and began to lead him to his patrol car, the front-seat passenger exited the Camaro and shot Scott three times at close range with a .38 caliber revolver. Mortally wounded, Scott returned fire as the suspects fled; they drove into Leslie, abandoned the Camaro, and carjacked a blue 1981 Cutlass at gunpoint. The Cutlass was spotted by Ingham County deputies and the suspects were taken into custody following a felony stop.

Taped eyewitness statements helped build the prosecution’s case. On August 18, 1982, the two men directly involved in Trooper Scott’s killing were convicted and sentenced by the Ingham County Circuit Court to life imprisonment. Does anyone have memories of the community reaction in Ingham County that winter or any additional details about the incident?