Christopher Hampton
Hampton involved in 2015 fatal shooting
By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — Police Sgt. Christopher Hampton, 33, died Nov. 25 from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound about 10 a.m. in the area of Michigan Avenue and Southfield Freeway, according to the department.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Hampton’s identification and ruled his death a suicide. Hampton was a 10-year veteran of the department.
Police chaplains and grief counselors have made themselves available for members of the Police Department.
“This is a tragic situation for our department, our community, and for the family of our fallen officer,” Chief Ronald Haddad said in a press release. “As we grieve as a law enforcement family, please respect the privacy of the family during this extremely difficult time.”
Hampton’s obituary said The Police Officers Charity set up a memorial fund for his daughter, Blakely Hampton. Donations can be may at any DFCU Financial location, by check payable to: Blakely Hampton, c/o DFCU Financial, or online at www.dfcu.com.
Along with his daughter, Christopher Hampton leaves his wife, Karly Hampton.
A memorial mass was held Dec. 2 St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Canton Township.
At the time of his death, Hampton was involved in a civil lawsuit in connection with the fatal shooting of Kevin Mathews five years ago.
Hampton shot Matthews shot nine times on Dec. 23, 2015, in Detroit following a foot chase and struggle.
Police officers were dispatched to a gas station on Tireman and Greenfield on a report of a disturbance. Matthews allegedly was harassing a female clerk inside, and when police arrived, they asked Matthews to step outside. He, instead, fled on foot.
That same day, Hampton was conducting a traffic stop near the same location when he saw Matthews and informed dispatch he would attempt to make contact with him.
When Matthews walked past the traffic stop area, Hampton crossed into Detroit to speak with him on the prior incident and warrant violation. Hampton pursed Matthews on foot yelling for him to stop, but the chase continued to a backyard in the 8800 block of Whitcomb where the shooting took place.
Five witnesses were interviewed and stated that the officer and Matthews “engaged in an intense struggle that started in the grass near the fence line.”
It ended in the driveway when Matthews stood over the officer and pulled the ammunition magazine from the duty belt. Hampton was still on his back when he fired the nine shots killing Matthews, the police report said.
A year following the shooting, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced she would not file any charges against Hampton.
“After careful analysis we have concluded that we cannot prove the Matthews case beyond a reasonable doubt because of the laws of self-defense,” Worthy said in a press release.
The Matthews family filed the $10 million lawsuit against Christopher Hampton and the city of Dearborn in October 2016.
According to Matthews’ family, he suffered from some type of mental illness and was unarmed.
U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Michigan Judge George Steeh declined to dismiss the civil lawsuit last May. Steeh ruled that experts had cast doubt on Hampton’s explanation for the shooting which lead to Matthews’ death.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])