LANSING (WWJ) – A former Lansing-area police officer has pleaded no contest to pulling his gun on a newspaper delivery driver while off-duty.
Chad Vorce, 45, pleaded no contest on Thursday to misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty and aggravated assault in connection with the 2021 incident.
Attorney General Dana Nessel's office says Vorce, a former officer with the DeWitt Police Department – about 10 miles north of Lansing – spotted a van driving erratically in his neighborhood on Jan. 14, 2021. The driver of the van was delivering papers for the Lansing State Journal.
Vorce pulled out his gun while off-duty around 7 a.m. that morning as he followed the van out of the neighborhood near Airport Road, according to the AG's office.
Authorities say he drew his weapon a second time in a gas station parking lot, where the driver of the van eventually stopped.
On-duty DeWitt police officers and Michigan State Police ultimately responded to the gas station.
Nessel says the former officer "posed a danger to his community" by pulling out his weapon.
"In this plea agreement we prioritized both the officer's resignation and the surrender of his MCOLES certification as a matter of public safety and public trust in law enforcement, as well as the concerns and wishes of the victim in this assault," Nessel said.
Nessel said the plea deal will "inhibit Vorce from wearing another badge in another town without considerable time for reflection and requiring renewed approval and scrutiny from The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards."
Both charges are punishable by up to a year of incarceration. He is set to be sentenced on Oct. 16.
