A Sterling Heights police lieutenant who investigated the excessive force case against two suspended fellow police officers mostly agreed with defense attorneys who placed blame on the accuser for his injuries, adding officers acted reasonably during a high-stress encounter.

Attorney Dan Garon, representing Jack Currie, and attorney Arthur Weiss, representing James Sribniak, questioned Sterling Heights Lt. Jason Bisdorf for most of the more than three hours he was on the witness stand Monday in front of a full courtroom in Roseville’s 39th District Court.

Bisdorf, who investigated the incident as chief of internal affairs, testified at the second day of the officers’ preliminary examination that they were “assertive,” not aggressive, during their arrest of Gary Young, and that Young’s failure to comply with commands put their safety at risk.

“It could be a fight for their lives … based on the totality of the circumstances,” Bisdorf said of the February 2025 incident on a berm at the Interstate 94 entrance ramp at Gratiot Avenue near 13 Mile Road in Roseville.

“He is not surrendering,” Bisdorf said of Young. “He doesn’t obey commands. He is combative.”

Bisdorf testified on the first day of the hearing in June he did not see any violations of Sterling Heights Police Department policy by Sribniak during the incident, an opinion based solely on the videos shown at the hearing, not on his investigation.

Young’s Jeep Compass ended up on the berm after three of his tires blew out during the chase. Young is seen in police officer body-camera video exiting the vehicle and walking away from officers down the berm toward a fence that separated the grassy area from a parking lot containing hundreds of auto-dealer vehicles.

“He was continuing to attempt to flee, a continuation of him trying to get away,” Bisdorf said.

Young dropped to his knees possibly due to a Taser shot from an officer, Bisdorf said. He agreed Young could have went down because he was “hammered” from alcohol, as described by Garon. Young’s blood-alcohol level was .194% after the crash, more than twice the legal limit, Bisdorf said.

Currie and Sribniak are each charged by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office with one count of misconduct in office, a five-year felony, and assault with a dangerous weapon, a four-year felony.

The incident occurred following a police chase that started in the parking lot of an apartment complex near 15 Mile and Moravian roads in Sterling Heights shortly before 5 a.m. Feb. 25, 2024 when officers attempted to stop Young in his vehicle after a woman called police to report he had assaulted her and threatened her daughter.

Young was uncooperative and fled in the vehicle east on 15 Mile, and one of the tires deflated due to stop sticks applied by officers, according to testimony and video. During the chase, Young was driving about 90 mph, twice the speed limit, crossed the center line with the vehicle and nearly struck another motorist, police said. He was driving on southbound Gratiot to enter I-94 but instead turned on to northbound Gratiot. He drove south only for a moment before driving the vehicle over the median curb, causing two more tires to go flat, and turned back onto southbound Gratiot before stopping on the berm, Bisdorf said.

When arresting Young, officers would have been taking into account his alleged assaultive behavior involving the woman and his risky driving, Bisdorf added.

During the apprehension, Young was punched 15 times and kicked twice times by Currie, as well as bitten once by the police dog, Dusty, handled by Sribniak.

When asked whether it was appropriate for officers to take those actions, Bisdort said: “It could.”

“It would have to deal with what the officers were thinking at the time …, possibly something I’m not aware of,” he said.

Body camera video of the apprehension shows a chaotic scene in which many of the nine or 10 responding officers repeatedly yelled at Young to “put your hands behind your back” and “get on the ground,” in many instances using obscenities.

Bisdorf agreed with Assistant Attorney General Robert Hayes that Young did not throw any punches at the officers and only kicked Sribniak, who was the dog handler, once in the head.

But under questioning by Weiss, Bisdorf agreed Young’s fists were “clenched” and he was “wrestling” with officers during the arrest.

Weiss suggested “hindsight” should not be used in judging the officers and that it’s easier for a prosecutor to second guess them nearly 18 months later.

There was no opportunity for officers to “reassess” the situation, Weiss said.

“It is very difficult in the time they had to sit back and reassess,” Bisdorf said.

He also agreed Young was not struck or bitten after he was handcuffed.

The hearing, being held in front of Judge Alyia Hakim, is scheduled to resume Wednesday when Young is expected to testify.

After the hearing, Hakim will determine whether the case should proceed to Macomb County Circuit Court for a possible trial.

Young was charged with five felony counts including assault with a dangerous weapon and three misdemeanors. He was sentenced earlier this year by Macomb Circuit Judge Richard Caretti to 20 days in jail after pleading guilty in January to driving while intoxicated with the presence of a controlled substance, third-degree fleeing police and resisting arrest.