SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A Metro Detroit family has filed a lawsuit against Southfield police accusing the department of negligence after a man was paralyzed while in custody.
Clint Willis, 27, is now paralyzed from the neck down after an arrest in Southfield last month
Willis’ family and attorneys held a press conference Sunday announcing a $20 million lawsuit against the department.
Police say they got a call that Willis assaulted his elderly mother, but his family said it was a call for help during a mental health crisis and that Willis shouldn’t have been able to hurt himself.
“Our biggest expectation from calling 911 was to get my little brother some help and as a result of that is he ends up injured, paralyzed,” Willis’ brother, Anthony Thomas, said.
In a press conference last week, Southfield police Chief Elvin Barren refuted the claims of brutality and released video from the jail.
In the video, Willis appears unrestrained but as he was led into a cell things took a turn.
“Mr. Willis became agitated you’ll see in the video he goes to the rear of the cell and then runs head first into the glass wall,” Elvin said during a May 11 news conference.
The family is asking for an outside investigation to be conducted.
“Mental illness is a serious thing across the United States and it’s hitting us on a personal level,” Thomas said. “But there’s got to be options for families out there. For people we can depend on to call when stuff is serious.”
Willis is facing multiple criminal charges.