Michigan Democratic Rep. Jewell Jones made an appearance in court Tuesday sitting alongside his attorney, Ali Hammoud.
Jones is charged with resisting arrest, operating while intoxicated, reckless driving and possession of a weapon while under the influence of alcohol following his April 6 arrest.
Michigan State Police dashboard camera footage captured the arrest on Interstate 96 in Livingston County. In the video, the state representative from Inkster could be heard instructing officers to “call Joe” -- believed to be Col. Joseph Gasper, the head of Michigan State Police.
Gasper declined to comment on the arrest.
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The video also showed MSP troopers wrestling Jones to the ground, saying they maced and tased him. A police report stated that the incident happened after finding Jones’ SUV in a ditch following a crash.
However, Hammoud said the report is inaccurate.
“Mr. Jones was not in his vehicle at the time police arrived. There was no basis for the actual stop,” he said.
Hammoud also said the police were out of line.
“When police officers, we believe, used excessive force by grabbing him, throwing him to the ground -- Two officers did and a couple more officers came and jumped on top of him. He was tased and maced. It’s pretty gruesome,” he said.
The police report included that Jones invoked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s name, threatening to call her and report all of the officers.
“I haven’t actually seen everything. I know there’s an investigation happening with Michigan State Police,” Whitmer said on the matter.