Contributed by Jeff Chamberlain, AICP- Deputy City Manager, City of Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO (MICH.)-Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Thomas is releasing the following statement related to a video on social media showing the 2018 arrest in Bronson Park. June 19, 2020.
“This week the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety was first made aware of a citizen’s video on social media of an arrest which occurred on September 19, 2018, around 6 p.m. The video shows a portion of the arrest of a man in Bronson Park. At that time Bronson Park was closed to the public and had a police tape line surrounding it. We recognize that our community is using video and other tools to hold Public Safety accountable to the people we serve. The incident in this video did take place in Kalamazoo and we acknowledge and accept responsibility for it. We understand the urgent need for equity in law enforcement.
We know that this is what our community demands of us, and what we must demand of ourselves. The video of this incident is not easy to watch and elicits many emotions. We apologize for any trauma this may cause those who view it. We would like to provide some context for what occurred. Public Safety officers made contact with a man after he had crossed visible police lines inside the park and was walking through. The officers informed the man that he was violating the police zone and asked for his identification in order to cite him for the violation. The male would not provide the officers with his full name, only providing his first name, and began to walk away from the investigating officers. They told the man he was not free to leave and again asked him his full name.
The man then gave the officers a false name. Officers again asked for his name and he again gave a different false name. The man was told he was not free to leave as they investigated the violation. He was told he would be detained in handcuffs if he continued to attempt to leave. He again attempted to walk away from the officer and the officer stopped him and attempted to handcuff him. He resisted being handcuffed and the officer took him to the ground in order to handcuff him. As both officers were attempting to handcuff the man, he continued to resist by lifting his head and contorting his body to stand up. The officer placed his shinbone (tibia) on the man’s head in order to control his movement and to complete the handcuffing. Once handcuffed, the man was stood up and walked to the police cruiser. The man complained of injuries although the officers did not see any visible injuries, they called a supervisor to the cruiser to review.
The supervisor responded and asked the man if he had injuries and he refused to answer. Once taken to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department, the man was photographed to document the fact there no injuries visible. A detailed police report was completed for this incident as well as mandatory use of force report which were reviewed. It was determined that the use of force used during the incident complied with the KDPS policy. The force used was not on the neck and did not restrict the airway, which would have been prohibited per policy. Body-worn cameras were Kalamazoo Public Safety worn during this incident by both officers in accordance with policy. At the time of this 2018 incident, video footage was not kept beyond the 63 days required in policy past adjudication, therefore the body-worn camera footage is no longer available. In mid-2019 the policy was changed to keep video recordings for four years if involved in the use of force report.
Last week the City Manager Jim Ritsma described an action plan that will include an outside, independent review of KDPS’s policies, including our use of force policy. We will look at policies and actions through an equity lens to ensure that our actions are fair, equitable, and responsive to our community.”
*See the full report here on our Home page.