MARINE CITY, Mich. – An altercation over a filming dispute led to a Michigan business posting a scathing note about police, and the man who pepper-sprayed the owner being charged.
The note was posted on the door of Zimmerman’s Meat Market in Marine City on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
“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.
The owners also told Local 4 that they are planning to sell the business.
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 note was posted one day after a group of “First Amendment auditors” was outside the business, filming the market.
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 said 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 the nearby officer. These differing accounts prompted a police investigation.
The person who pepper-sprayed Richard also released a statement saying they were peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to record in public.
On Friday, Jan. 10, the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office charged the man who pepper-sprayed the business owner.
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.