Raphael Bryant Scott-French

Raphael Bryant Scott-French was a 27-year-old father of five young daughters from Clinton Township, Michigan. A Black / African American male, he worked as a forklift driver for a staffing agency at the LG Energy Solution facility in Hazel Park.

A workplace dispute on the morning of October 21, 2022, escalated into fatal violence. The incident began inside the facility with an altercation between Scott-French and another employee. A team leader, Malik L. Dixon-Lynch, reportedly tried to break up the fight before a supervisor ordered Scott-French and the other worker to leave the building. About 45 minutes later, around 7 a.m., Scott-French returned to the facility in his car. After spotting Dixon-Lynch near a building exit, he got out of his vehicle to talk to him. It was then that Dixon-Lynch shot Scott-French in the parking lot.

After the shooting, Dixon-Lynch allegedly pointed his 9mm handgun at another male employee who was hiding behind a vehicle, but did not fire. When Hazel Park police arrived, they found Dixon-Lynch back inside the building with security personnel. He surrendered without resistance and was taken into custody. Investigators recovered the handgun and reviewed video footage of the incident. The police chief stated that while the suspect admitted to the shooting, he claimed it was in self-defense, an assertion that police said was not supported by the evidence.

Authorities charged Malik Lashawn Dixon-Lynch, a 26-year-old from Sterling Heights with no prior criminal record, in the killing. The charges included second-degree murder, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of felony firearm. He was denied bond and held at the Oakland County Jail.

In December 2022, following a preliminary examination, 43rd District Judge Brian Hartwell ordered Dixon-Lynch to stand trial on all charges. The case was bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court, where Dixon-Lynch was scheduled to be arraigned for trial on December 22. As of December 2022, the case was proceeding through the court system.