DETROIT – A Detroit police officer has been suspended after being involved in a physical altercation with a 70-year-old man.
The incident occurred at a Midtown restaurant at around 6:50 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. Investigators say the officer was on the scene dealing with the 70-year-old man, who appeared intoxicated and was causing a disturbance.
The 70-year-old man, who police believe was intoxicated, was hospitalized after the altercation and was still in the hospital as of Monday, Sept. 4. The Detroit police officer involved was suspended, with police Chief James White saying the officer could’ve handled the situation better.
The Detroit Police Department’s Force Investigation said it will conduct its own investigation of the situation.
“It’s coming before the board,” said Willie Burton, a Detroit police commissioner. “So, I want to get with my colleagues, and I want to see that we do the right thing and review this case thoroughly before we speak further out on it.”
DPD claims video from the officer’s bodycam shows the officer tried multiple times to ask the 70-year-old to leave before the man struck the officer on the head. In return, the officer reportedly punched the man in the jaw, resulting in the man hitting his head on the ground.
So far, Local 4 has yet to receive a copy of that police video.
“From a police oversight standpoint, I want a look at all the facts. I want to see what really occurred during that day,” Burton said. “I wanna look at all of the videos and also listen to the audio. I wanna see that our officer did what was in his scope as far as his job to do.”
In the meantime, the chief has decided to suspect the police officer from duty.
“I ordered the immediate suspension of the officer involved from duty, pending further investigation,” White said. “My decision was influenced by concerns that, at the very least, the officer did not adequately de-escalate or disengage from the situation.”
Burton is among those who may soon look into the case.
“We’re going be looking at policy,” Burton said. “We’re going to see [if] the officer followed protocol. Did he or she follow their training? If not, we’re going to report back out.”
The homicide task force is overseeing the investigation, with the Michigan State Police leading the effort.
“We have many good officers serving and protecting on our streets every day. This is something you don’t always hear. But, when you do hear of a situation like that, it does break your heart, because we expect our officers to do better,” Burton said.
