Royal Oak officer resigns after 'verbally detaining' black man for allegedly looking at white woman

Woman says Myers was making her uncomfortable

Royal Oak police confronted a black man after a white woman called police and said he was making her uncomfortable. (WDIV)

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – An officer with the Royal Oak Police Department has resigned after an encounter with an African-American man that went viral on social media.

The video shows the officer stopping 20-year-old Devin Myers for nearly 20 minutes after receiving a call from a woman who said she was feeling uncomfortable by his presence.

Myers says he had parked his car and was walking to a restaurant.

The Royal Oak police chief announced the officer's resignation at a council meeting Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.

Chief Corrigan O'Donohue said the officer quit "when faced with the consequences of his actions."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Aug. 16 that her office would investigate the controversial detainment of the man by Royal Oak police officers.

Police released an apology, saying the officer went too far by "verbally detaining" Myers for 19 minutes.

"This is not the practice of the Royal Oak Police Department, and it is not acceptable," the apology read. "The supervisor has been disciplined and every Royal Oak police supervisor has received additional training in procedural justice."

You can listen to the 911 call below.


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Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.