WARREN, Mich. – Warren City Councilman Eddie Kabacinski is facing several charges following an incident that was caught on camera.
He is charged with assault and battery and impersonating a public officer. The assault charge is a 93 day misdemeanor. Impersonating an officer is a 1 year misdemeanor.
Eastpointe police said the incident happened at a rally in October. Kabacinski is accused of handcuffing a woman who put “Black Lives Matter” stickers on a President Donald Trump campaign sight.
The South Warren Alliance of Radical Movement, or SWARM, has been calling for Kabacinski to resign.
Local 4 went to Kabacinski’s house to reach out for a comment, but we were unable to contact him.
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SWARM released the following statement:
"This morning the members of the South Warren Alliance of Radical movement learned that Eddie Kabicinski is facing misdemeanor charges for impersonating an officer and for assault and battery. We are heartened that Eddie is facing some measure of accountability for his actions-- which we believe reveal a deeply troubling behavioral pattern. Eddie Kabiciski’s behavior indicates that he is mentally and emotionally unwell and in need of help. Eddie has lost the public’s trust and must resign, be removed from office or face a recall.
No members of SWARM were present at the Trump rally in Eastpointe, where Eddie chased down and handcuffed a woman, however we saw a similar pattern unfold at the September 19th March Against Racism in Warren. During the march against racism, Eddie Kabicinski and about 20 other counter protesters assembled across the street from us.
Before the March began, a woman in a passing car (refer to min 3:17 in video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6cyazFENuA&t=22s) stopped, and attempted to pull Trump flags from several counter protestors hands. The woman was assaulted and dragged around on the ground. Protestors attending the March Against Racism rushed to her aid and removed her from the situation and attempted to de-escalate. In this situation AND during the incident in Eastpointe a woman who acted with disregard for property (the Trump flags, in the case of Warren, and a Trump sign in the case of Eastpointe) was assaulted.
Similar to the incident in Eastpointe, Eddie Kabicinski was seen impersonating an officer at the Rally in Warren. (minute 14:44 of video: https://www.facebook.com/rob.baker.5050/videos/3610817882261595/) Eddie Kabicinski, who claims to believe he is deputized to act as a police officer, did not intervene to stop the assault on the woman. He also did not attempt to de-escalate a situation later in the rally in Warren where a Trump supporter just a few feet away from him brandished a gun and threatened a bike blocker with his car and gun. (VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/1289691080/videos/pcb.10223706577074326/10223706542833470/)
It is deeply disturbing that Eddie Kabisinski seems to have more concern for property, especially Trump Paraphernalia, than for the health and safety of those around him. While he states that he believes in law in order, his actions are clearly dangerous and unlawful.
Even if Eddie is convicted of impersonating an officer and assault, it still is unlikely that he will be jailed. If Eddie were a Black man, statistics show he would be facing much harsher charges. At this moment SWARM could be asking that Eddie be charged with a hate crime for assaulting someone based on their political affiliation-- he has stated repeatedly that he believes that BLM is a terrorist organization. We could call for increased charges or ask that the governor get involved. Instead of relying upon the “justice” system to respond fairly, we must rely upon the power of people to continue to call for and ultimately achieve his removal and/or recall.
Eddie clearly needs help and is not fit to hold public office at this time. We hope that the courts will hold him responsible as charged and that he will be ordered to stop assaulting people who disagree with him or face further intervention. Accountability and removal from office are of urgent importance because Eddie’s behavior normalizes the increasing incidences of extra judicial action taken by far right groups.
A recall petition is being developed by the Warren Democratic Club - we support this effort, and call for the citizens of District 5 to come together in support of Eddie’s removal. We hope that Eddie will seek out the care he needs; we hope the courts will direct him to do so. And we continue to demand his resignation, removal or recall based on his failure to represent those living in his district, especially Black residents (many of whom do not feel safe contacting him with a concern), and for his repeated breaches of the public’s trust.