Detroit police chief: Officers acted properly during forceful arrest

DETROIT – Tatayana Taylor says Detroit police officers used excessive force when they arrested her fiancé on Wednesday during a traffic stop, and she has the video to show it.

Taylor said she and her fiancé, Tony Ross, were in a 1998 Cadillac on the city’s west side Wednesday evening when they were pulled over.

“He [the officer] said, ‘License and registration.’ And my fiancé said, ‘What do you need license and registration for?’ He has a right to ask what he’s being pulled over for. He said, ‘No seatbelt,’” Taylor said.

She also insists that her fiancé had his seatbelt on, and when he went to reach for his information in the middle console, things got physical.

Taylor started recording on her cellphone.

“I couldn’t help him. Our 7-month-old son was in the back seat. There was nothing I could do. I’m not about to intervene while my child was right there,” she said.

Police Chief James Craig said Taylor’s video doesn’t tell the whole story. His department has released patrol car dashcam video of the arrest, too.

“Anytime we have to use force, whether it’s punch, whether it’s a kick, taking someone down to the ground, if it’s a struggle, it does not look good,” Craig said. “But our officers, preliminarily, looked as if they did it right. We are doing an investigation. It’s still very early.”

Ross is being held on an outstanding warrant.


About the Author:

You can watch Kimberly Gill weekdays anchoring Local 4 News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. and streaming live at 10 p.m. on Local 4+. She's an award-winning journalist who finally called Detroit home in 2014. Kim has won Regional Emmy Awards, and was part of the team that won the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast in 2022.