Ypsilanti Advocate Named as Man Killed by Police After Chase on Pennsylvania, Ohio Turnpikes

An Ypsilanti man known for his advocacy work for at-risk youth was reportedly shot by Pennsylvania state troopers Friday.

Deshawn Dante Leeth, 30, was fatally shot by Pennsylvania State Police April 4 after he crashed a stolen Ohio State Highway patrol car on the Turnpike, according to police.

Leeth was the founder and executive director of Underdawg Nation, a nonprofit focused on serving Washtenaw County children who may be impacted by community violence.

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Leeth was fatally shot around 6:05 p.m. Friday after he allegedly assaulted an Ohio State Trooper and stole the trooper’s car, according to a release from Pennsylvania State Police.

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The officer used a Taser but the man, later identified as Leeth, jumped into the officer’s marked police vehicle and sped east into Pennsylvania with the overhead flashers on.

Pennsylvania State Police gave chase before stopping the car, which flipped and landed upside down in pull-off area on the turnpike.

When Pennsylvania troopers approached the car, an altercation ensued, during which the man was fatally shot, police said.

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Leeth, the father of a daughter, founded Underdawg Nation in 2021 shortly after he was released from prison, according to information from the nonprofit’s website. He was previously incarcerated after pleading guilty to eight home invasion charges and two larceny charges across separate cases in 2012 and 2016. He was discharged in 2023.

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When Kiyoshi Shelton, the community engagement director of nonprofit YBMen Project, was searching for others to join an advocacy coalition in the area, he kept hearing Leeth’s name, he said.

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Leeth organized basketball events for area children, as well as a workshop to support the mental health of Black men, Shelton said.

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Leeth’s family declined to comment before publication, but said in a GoFundMe launched morning that Leeth was a “man of unwavering faith, deep compassion and powerful purpose.” Leeth is the youngest of five children, according to Underdawg Nation.

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[Editor’s note: Here is bodycam footage of the incident.]