Grand Valley State student Derek Copp was at home when Michigan police shot him in his off-campus apartment on Mar. 11. The pot-smoking activist and film major suffered a punctured lung, pierced liver and two fractured ribs. "If that bullet had gone a couple inches the other way, he would have been killed," says his dad George.

It was the fifth police shooting of a citizen in Western Michigan's Ottawa and Kent Counties this year.

Students led campus protests on Mar. 13 and Mar. 20 with such signs as, "USE POT, GET SHOT."  WATCH PROTEST CLIP

Police knocked on Copp's sliding glass door on the ground floor of the Campus View Apartments and Townhouses at 10255 42nd Ave. in Allendale at approximately 9 pm on Mar. 11. When he opened the door, police beamed a flashlight at him. As Copp, who was unarmed, raised his hand to shield his eyes, Ottawa County detective Ryan Huzienga fired one shot, hitting him in the upper right chest.

"He's not a drug dealer," George says about his son. "He's a good kid. He just shouldn't have been shot for that."Copp was released from the hospital on Mar. 18.

It turns out Copp was dealing small amounts of marijuana. Prior to being shot, he sold an eighth to an undercover for $60. Copp's roommate Conor Bardallis did the same the month before. Both were charged with felony delivery or manufacturing of marijuana. On Aug. 10, Copp pled guilty and was sentenced to 18 months' probation, 40 hours community service and a $300 fine. Bardallis' case is still pending.

Huzienga also received probation (six months), community service (80 hours) and a $400 fine for reckless discharge of a weapon.

Chris Goldstein contributed to this story

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