By: Brian Wells | Warren Weekly | Published July 25, 2025
WARREN — The exam hearing for a man accused of hitting and killing a woman while leading Warren police on a high-speed chase resulted in a heated exchange between the defense attorney and a witness July 24.
Police spotted Anthony Eugene-Douglas Grier Jr., 33, allegedly speeding northbound on Van Dyke Avenue near the General Motors Technical Center at around 9:23 p.m. May 24. Officers detected him traveling at 72 mph in a 40 mph zone, police previously stated.
When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, Grier allegedly fled.
At an exam hearing on July 24, Macomb County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Robert Nelson Jr. called Warren police officer Chad Lee to the stand to testify.
Lee, who has been employed with the Warren Police Department for about one year and eight months, was in the police vehicle pursuing Grier’s black Chrysler 300.
Lee described the pursuit, stating at the highest, he drove at 114 mph for a brief period while pursuing Grier, who lead officers northbound on Van Dyke before turning around at an intersection north of 15 Mile Road and then traveling southbound, at which point Lee said he hit a curb and drove on the sidewalk “for a matter of time.”
Lee stated that even at 114 mph, Grier was pulling away from him.
“I was losing significant ground,” he said. “I was unable to keep up.”
The pursuit continued, with officers blocking intersections along Van Dyke and Grier allegedly running a total of six red lights until he collided with two vehicles at the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Van Dyke.
The driver of one vehicle, a 2007 Pontiac, was 71-year-old Wendy Drew, of Hazel Park. She was transported to the hospital where she was declared dead. According to the autopsy report presented at the July 24 hearing, she died of blunt force trauma. The manner of death was accidental.
The dashcam footage from Lee’s vehicle — which was played as evidence during the hearing — showed Grier fleeing on foot after the collision, though he was quickly apprehended.
When Josh Van Laan, Grier’s attorney, began to cross-examine Lee, he asked him about the location of Flock Safety cameras placed along Van Dyke.
“I know there’s some on Van Dyke,” Lee said. “I don’t know the exact locations.”
However, Van Laan countered by stating the pursuit ran almost the entire length of Van Dyke in Warren, so it was likely that a camera picked up the license plate on the vehicle Grier was driving.
Van Laan asked Lee how fast he was driving when he began the pursuit, before activating his lights and sirens. Lee said he didn’t recall, though he testified he was operating safely.
Van Laan then asked again how fast Lee was driving when he initiated the pursuit.
“Not as fast as your client,” Lee stated.
At this point, Visiting Judge Denis LeDuc — who was presiding over the hearing — told Van Laan to watch his tone of voice.
“Tone, not in my courtroom,” LeDuc said. “Normal conversational tone.”
After asking Lee if pursuing a suspect at high speeds was safe — which Lee said was, because traffic was blocked and he was in control of his vehicle — Van Laan returned to his question about Flock cameras.
“Why on earth, officer, would you go 114 mph on a chase when you can just check a Flock camera to get the license plate,” he said.
“Because I’m a police officer, a crime was committed in my presence,” Lee said. “Your client had not been ID’ed yet. I did not know at the time if he was the registered owner of the vehicle. I did not know if that vehicle was stolen. I did not know if this man was wanted on any serious felony charges or warrants. I did not know if this man had just committed a crime elsewhere and was trying to get away. A serious or heinous crime could have been committed. There could have been somebody in his trunk. There are a multitude of reasons why I, as a police officer, would not just say, ‘Oh, he’s attempting to get away, he’s going too fast, let me stop here.
“The citizens of Warren deserve better, so I’m not going to just sit and turn a blind eye to criminal activity in front of me when it’s my job,” Lee said.
Van Laan responded by asking Lee why he would initiate a pursuit that would lead to speeds of 114 mph for a civil infraction. Lee said it was elevated from a civil infraction to a felony when Grier decided to flee.
“The speeds alone were a criminal matter, because that’s reckless driving,” Lee said. “So if you want to play this game, then yes …”
Before Lee could finish his statement, LeDuc interjected again.
“Gentlemen, we’re not going to get argumentative,” he said.
Van Laan, addressing Lee, stated he didn’t understand why he had become so hostile.
“Why would you initiate a 114 mph chase for a speeding ticket when you could just check a Flock camera and find out who it was and go get them,” Van Laan asked.
Lee responded that he had answered the question — he didn’t know who the driver was.
At this point, the two began talking over each other, which led to LeDuc interjecting again.
“Don’t talk over each other,” LeDuc said. “Place a question on the floor, Mr. Van Laan, and officer, you answer that question as thoroughly as you can. We’re not going to have arguments on my floor.”
Van Laan asked again about Flock cameras and if they could have been used to get the license plate of the vehicle, which Lee responded stating “yes.”
Van Laan then asked Lee if the citizens of Warren were being kept safe if he’s pursuing a suspect at high speeds.
“Are they kept safe when you’re chasing a speeder at 114 mph,” Van Laan asked.
“At that point it wasn’t a speeder, it was a criminal,” Lee responded.
Van Laan then stated it had only become a criminal matter because Lee initiated a high speed chase.
“Reckless driving, not a civil issue, criminal,” Lee stated. “Running from the police, criminal.”
Van Laan ended by asking Lee if he would do anything over again, which was met with an objection by Nelson, after which Van Laan ended his questioning of the witness.
Nelson, on cross-examination questioning Lee, asked if a Flock camera could identify whether or not the driver of a vehicle was the registered owner, which Lee said it could not.
“So if you were to commit a criminal act in my car, like reckless driving, careless driving, fleeing and eluding and you got away, would the police come to your door, or would they come to my door?” Nelson asked.
Lee stated officers would come to the owner’s house.
Van Laan then asked if police officers would ask who was operating the vehicle.
Lee said this would have been the case, unless the vehicle was stolen. Van Laan responded by asking if the vehicle Grier was driving had been reported stolen.
LeDuc then interjected again.
“Mr. Van Laan, I’m a veteran judge, 55 years. You hit the nail on the head, but then don’t keep hitting it,” he said.
“The nail keeps coming back out, judge,” Van Laan said before he ended his questioning again.
Lee was then released, and Warren police officer Andrew Piasecki was called to testify.
Piasecki responded to the scene of the crash, stating it was “chaotic.”
“There were multiple vehicles that were crashed, multiple police cars there, multiple officers on foot everywhere,” he said.
Piasecki testified that officers performed life-saving measures on Drew before the Warren Fire Department arrived. Paramedics transported her to the hospital. Piasecki said he went to the hospital where Drew was transported, where he was informed she had been declared dead.