MARINE CITY, Mich. – The man who pepper-sprayed a Marine City business owner during a filming dispute has been charged, officials said.
He has been charged with unlawful use of a chemical device (mace), which is a two-year misdemeanor, according to St. Clair County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Wendling.
The man’s name isn’t being released until he is arraigned. The prosecutor’s office said they are waiting on the victim’s medical records and that the charge could be upgraded.
The heated confrontation that happened outside of Zimmerman’s Meat Market on Jan. 6 was recorded and posted on social media by a group claiming to defend First Amendment rights.
Zimmerman’s co-owner, Sarah Hoover, asked if she could help them, and when they didn’t respond, she said she was scared and called the police.
Her father and co-owner, Richard Hobig, said he saw a police car down the street, so he went outside to talk to the officer.
Video footage, which has garnered thousands of views on social media, shows the person filming pepper-spraying the business owner as he walks down the sidewalk.
“He kept saying something about stay away from me, and it’s like I’m not going for you. You can see in the video where he goes to stay in front of me, and I thought he was spraying silly string at me or something,” Richard said.
Sarah admitted the argument got out of hand and said she made three 911 calls to try to get police to intervene.
“I had no idea why they did this, who they were, where they came from, and what they wanted. I didn’t know if they were trying to rob us, kidnap someone, break my windows, or taunt me. I had no idea if this was dangerous or not,” said Sarah.
The man who pepper-sprayed Richard said they feared for their safety and warned Richard to back off, while Richard said he was just trying to get help from a nearby officer. These differing accounts prompted a police investigation.
The business owners said they were not happy with how the situation was handled and posted a scathing note about the police on the day after the altercation.
“Closed until further notice. Pls (sic) see our Facebook for info. Pls (sic) stay safe, lock your doors and don’t count on MCPD to protect you. -S,” the note reads.
Police said they were aware of the sign and respected the business owners’ right to free speech.
“The department is aware of the sign,” said Marine City Police Chief James D. Heaslip. “We respect the business owner’s right to free speech, but our focus remains on providing professional law enforcement services to the entire community. Our officers are on the clock 24/7 to ensure the safety of our citizens, and that hasn’t changed.”
The person who pepper-sprayed Richard released a statement saying they were peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to record in public.
They said they walked up to Zimmerman’s Meat Market during a downtown tour and said the woman inside the business reacted with hostility, turning off the lights and bringing out a large man who called the police.
The person filming said Richard charged aggressively at them despite warnings to back off, prompting the use of legal, non-deadly self-defense spray.
They said their intent was to peacefully record, not to cause an altercation.