WARREN, Mich. – An arrest captured on camera has taken a Warren police officer off the streets.
A Warren police officer took a man into custody after an incident involving a crash with a stolen vehicle that had a gun and drugs inside of it. Police officers took a man into custody, but there are concerns they went too far in doing so.
Officers say the car involved in the incident had a large amount of marijuana in the vehicle. Still, it’s how the arrest was handled that has raised some concerns.
As a result, one Warren officer is on administrative leave as the investigation continues.
“This white car comes flying out of nowhere, taking out a stop sign, and then four cop cars surround that car, yank him out of the car, and then they had like four or five guys on top of him already, wailing on him,” said Christian Rose, who was passing by as the incident occurred. “And then ... this big bald guy comes in, leaning on the stolen car, stomping on the back of knee trying to break his leg.”
Rose said he couldn’t help but pull out his phone and record the arrest taking place on June 2, near Chester and Shevlin streets.
“Once I saw him stomping on him, I stopped recording,” Rose said. “I got one of the guy’s attention. He told me to get out of there. He got the other people off of him, and then he turned around and left.”
The short, but telling, video posted online is drawing outrage on social media. Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said the department took action right away after the video was posted.
“He was immediately placed on administrative leave and was turned over to the Internal Affairs Division of the Warren Police Department for investigation,” Dwyer said.
The driver is believed to be OK and is now behind bars facing charges in connection with the the stolen car, gun and marijuana that was found. Some say, however, that no matter what crime may have occurred, such a beating wasn’t necessary.
“I ask for the patience as we take our time to ensure that the investigation is completely and promptly conducted,” Dwyer said.
Rose says he understands the whole situation is a gray area.
“If I was two seconds earlier, that guy could have hit and possibly killed me,” Rose said. “So, I’m not going to defend him. But, I’m not going to defend the police. I feel like the police did a really good job until they actually had the guy.”
Ultimately, Rose said he started filming because he wants change so that situations like this aren’t so common.
“That’s the America I really believe in,” Rose said. “Because that’s the America that I was raised to believe in. We also know the real America that we live in.”
Officials say they are looking into body cam footage that will be released at a later date.