See complete story in Thursday's Flint Journal
BURTON, Michigan -- Former Flint Police Chief Bradford Barksdale fatally shot a masked gunman who shot his way into a locked poker room early Wednesday in an apparent robbery attempt, the business' co-owner said.Barksdale was among those playing poker at about 1 a.m. when the suspect broke into the Palace Poker Room on East Bristol Road near Fenton Road, according to Al Crossnoe, who owns the business with son Adam. Barksdale's involvement was confirmed by numerous other sources.
Barksdale, who stepped down as chief in 2004, is a regular at the poker room, Al Crossnoe said. The Journal could not reach Barksdale for comment.
The masked suspect -- who has not been identified -- blew open a locked door with a shotgun and descended on a crowd of people playing poker about an hour before closing time at the business, Burton police said.
Authorities have said one retired Flint police officer and one off-duty officer were among the 40-50 people ordered to the floor as the suspect waved his gun.
Burton police said one of the officers then pulled out a gun and fatally shot the suspect. It's unclear how many shots were fired.
Crossnoe believes Barksdale made the right decision based on the circumstances.
"The guy's dead, and that's unfortunate," said Crossnoe, who was in the hall at the time of the shooting. "He may just have saved someone's life."
The police report on the shooting will go to the Genesee County prosecutor's office to determine if it was justified.