DETROIT – Two teenagers are being charged as adults after a gun was briefly stolen from a Detroit police officer who stopped for gas before joining the Taylor Swift detail.
The attack happened at 5:39 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at the BP gas station at Joy and Southfield roads.
Video shows the officer standing in line at the gas station checkout when Marlon Henderson, 17, of Detroit, tackled him in the middle of a gas station store and tried to steal his gun.
The uniformed officer was on his way to be part of the detail for Taylor Swift, who held two concerts at Ford Field that weekend. He had stopped at the gas station before his shift.
Video shows Henderson pushing the officer against a shelf and then struggling with him for several seconds. Henderson managed to pull the gun out of the officer’s hands briefly before the struggle continued.
Henderson threw the officer to the ground, the officer got up, and the two continued to hand fight before leaving the view of the camera.
During the fight, Dwayne Whitley, 16, of Detroit, stood by the door. At one point, he aimed a handgun at the officer, according to authorities.
No gunshots were fired during the skirmish. The officer was not injured.
Henderson is charged with armed robbery, disarming a police officer, and two felony firearm violations.
Whitley is charged with armed robbery, disarming a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, and three felony firearm violations.
Both teenagers are being charged as adults, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Friday, June 16.
“The defendants in this case attacked our victim, a police officer in full uniform, on his way to work, for no apparent reason,” Worthy said. “Everyone in the gas station at that moment in time was extraordinarily lucky that this situation did not escalate into losses of life.”
Henderson and Whitley were arraigned Friday afternoon at 36th District Court. Henderson received a $175,000 cash bond, and Whitley received a $200,000 cash bond.
A bond redetermination hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20.
The probable cause conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 23, and the preliminary examination is scheduled for 8:35 a.m. June 30.
