It all started when Jones and his wife were pulled over by a Taylor Police Department officer in April 2016. At the same time the officers' dashcam was recording, Jones' wife was also recording the incident on her cell phone.
Michigan law states a citizen is required to present identification upon request. The video shows Jones refused at first, only wanting to know what crime he was suspected of committing.
That's when the conflict escalated. The unnamed officer told Jones he was going to be arrested if he didn't present his ID.
Again, Jones asked to know what crime he was suspected of committing. Instead of explaining the reason for the stop and the subsequent reason for being arrested, the officer chose to grab the car window, break it, and drag Jones out through his window.
Jones told the ACLU he was then choked unconscious. His wife was also arrested when she refused to hand over her cell phone, choosing instead to toss the phone.
Presumably, she didn't want the police to erase her cell phone footage of the incident as TFTP has reported often occurs.
To get an outside professional opinion, Fox 2 reporters spoke with former Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godby. The former chief of police said the incident could have been avoided if the officer had "advised the gentleman what he's being stopped for."
He described the de-escalation techniques some officers are trained to employ in the line of duty. Godby said, "we're trained in verbal judo, how to de-escalate situations."
The former chief implied the officer's actions, while justified, may not have been the wisest. "Just because something is legal to do doesn't necessarily mean it's the right thing to do," he said.
When asked if the officer went too far, Godby said, "I think most reasonable people would say from a policy standpoint there's an opportunity for some training."
As TFTP reported Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Police Department has been able to significantly reduce its number of deadly encounters with the public by retraining its entire police force in using de-escalation techniques. They haven't shot and killed anyone since 2015, and are even giving medals to officers who de-escalate situations such as Jones encounter with police.
The incident in Taylor could have ended differently. Had the police officer "feared for his life" by saying "I thought he was reaching for a gun," the officer could have been justified in taking Jones' life.
Thankfully, the incident ended with Jones being able to live another day but not without the humiliation he experienced after his kidnapping.
Jones said he was forced to strip to his underwear and lie on the floor of his jail cell. He claims the air conditioning was then lowered to an extremely uncomfortable temperature and that he was forced to stay on the floor for hours.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) it's a particularly troubling encounter with police. They're now conducting their own investigation.
Attorney Mark Fancher said the subsequent arrest of Jones' wife, for tossing a cell phone instead of remanding it to police custody, should not have resulted in her kidnapping either. "That mere act should not, at least from our perspective, should not result in the arrest of someone who was trying to cooperate with police," Fancher told reporters.
Jones' brother-in-law, also in the vehicle, was also arrested. While the kidnapping, assault, and caging of three seemingly innocent people (for questioning officers' probable cause) happened in 2016, it wasn't until all the charges were dropped that the Jones family filed a complaint against the Taylor Police Department.
Taylor Police Chief, Mary Sclabassi, addressed the Jones' and ACLU's concerns in a statement but would not comment on the matter;
We have just received this complaint today. We take all complaints seriously. A thorough and diligent investigation will be conducted. We will refrain from commenting until the investigation is complete.The Free Thought Project will continue to bring you updates to this story as more information comes available. In the meanwhile, tell us what you think. Should the officer have reacted the way he did?
Reader Comments
Too bad he didn't get hit by that car when he smashes the window out
Even with the most corrupted anit-liberty ruling ever handed down in the 9th Circuit, whereby reasonable cause has now been changed to reasonable suspicion, a highly questionable breach from the Bills of Rights, this failing to observe a law so fundamental as to require the police to identify the reason for detainment shows a completely out of control authority system.
In my opinion, the right to self defense was invoked on the warrantless invasion of private property since the police failed to advise the citizen of their supposed reasonable suspicion for first stopping the person in the first place, and second for then deciding to attack the otherwise compliant citizen for not willingly complying with an arrest for which they had clearly engineered when they failed to advise the citizen why they were arresting him.
The whole incident is complete crap. If the police do not get a grip and become members of the communities they supposedly serve than incidents like these, which are already far out of control, will result in open warfare upon them and they will not win that war against the American People, and neither will anyone else. This legal system where by administrative authority cloaked in judicial robes undermines fundamental rights and obligations for lawful ruler-ship is destroying the fabric of America and is directing the nation towards a violent revolution. One has to wonder how people supposedly educated could unknowingly hand down ruling where by they are the means by which violence becomes the only solution. This is precisely what happened when the Supreme Court handed down the Dred Scott Decision and it was and remains a fact that the Supreme Court of the United States of America was responsible for creating violence as the only means to resolve the slavery issue. Another example from history which shows this system of justice created a civil war and the deaths of millions of the very citizens it was supposed to have been protecting.