YPSILANTI, Mich. – An Ypsilanti couple will stand trial for resisting arrest and injuring an officer who was bitten and scratched while he was trying to investigate a shooting, officials said.
Washtenaw County Deputy Austin Pearson and several other officers were called May 26 to a shooting in an Ypsilanti neighborhood, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
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Authorities said police established a perimeter around the location and tried to find the shooter.
Shatina Grady and her husband, Daniel Grady, began interfering with police activity and refused to stop their attempts to compromise the perimeter, according to officials.
Nessel said Pearson tried to arrest the Gradys for noncompliance, and they resisted. Shatina Grady is accused of “severely” biting Pearson on the arm.
Officials said Pearson struck Shatina Grady on the head three times with a closed fist until she stopped biting his arm. She is accused of biting his other forearm and scratching his head with her fingernails, according to authorities.
Shatina Grady also kicked at other officers as she was escorted to the patrol car, officials said. While inside the patrol car, she repeatedly kicked the door, damaging it and the door frame, according to police.
Nessel’s office reviewed video of the incident and determined that Pearson’s use of force was justified. Officials said he didn’t commit any criminal offenses during the interaction.
“While we will not condone conduct by the police which endangers the public, neither will we tolerate actions by private citizens which interferes with a police investigation or threatens the safety of our law enforcement officers,” Nessel said.
Shatina Grady is charged with three counts of resisting and obstructing an officer, one count of resisting and obstructing an officer causing injury and one count of malicious destruction of police property. The resisting and obstructing charge is a two-year felony and the latter two counts are both four-year felonies, according to Nessel.
Daniel Grady is charged with two counts of resisting and obstructing an officer.
A Washtenaw County judge ruled Monday (Oct. 18) that there’s enough evidence against the couple for them to stand trial. They are expected to make their first video appearance in Washtenaw County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 29.
