DETROIT — A lawsuit has been filed against seven members of the Wyoming Police Department and the City of Wyoming after the officers detained three Black men touring a house for sale in August.
Ven Johnson Law announced that the lawsuit had been filed in the United States District Court in the Western District of Michigan on Thursday. Joining Ven Johnson Law on the case is Ben Crump, a trial lawyer who also represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The initial incident happened on Sunday, Aug. 1, when realtor Eric Brown showed a house on Sharon Avenue in Wyoming to Roy Thorne and his teenage son. A neighbor called police on the men, claiming that squatters were in the vacant home.
Wyoming Police responded and ordered the men out of the home at gunpoint, detained them and put them in police vehicles. The men say that police ignored their statements that they were not squatters.
"My friend, he's a realtor," said Thorne, seen in police body camera video from the back of a police vehicle, "we’re here just to see the house. Only been here like 10 minutes. Definitely not buying this one."
The lawsuit claims that the involved officers and the police chief are guilty of excessive force, assault, battery and racial profiling. The lawsuit claims, "Plaintiffs violated no laws and committed no crimes at any point before or after they were detained at gunpoint and handcuffed by Defendant Officers."
“Upon the initial encounter, as opposed to simply interviewing these gentlemen, these officers apparently felt so threatened by two Black men and a teenager that they held them at gunpoint," said Ven Johnson. "Despite multiple attempts to explain to the officers that Mr. Brown was a licensed real estate agent showing the home to Mr. Thornton and his son, they were treated as criminals, threatened, and handcuffed without any legal basis. Let’s call this what it really is, racial profiling in its ugliest form.”
Five separate counts in the lawsuit include unlawful detainment and excessive force, equal protection, assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Wyoming police released a statement, saying in part, "After a thorough internal review of the actions of each of our public safety officers who responded to this incident, we have concluded race played no role in our officers’ treatment of the individuals who were briefly detained, and our officers responded appropriately. While it is unfortunate that innocent individuals were placed in handcuffs, our officers responded reasonably and according to department policy based on the information available to them at the time.”
The Wyoming Police Department has released body camera footage from the incident. It can be watched below:
Johnson said this situation would not have happened had his clients not been Black.
"These gentlemen, their lives were at risk because of their skin color," said Johnson. "Once you've got that gun pulled, they teach the officers you don't pull that gun unless you intend on using it."
In the dispatch call, a neighbor said "a young black man that was squatting in a home that's for sale. I know they took him away and towed his car away. Well, he's back there again."
Wyoming Police marked an incident on July 24, where a man was arrested for unlawful entry. He was described to have a black Mercedes sedan.
Neither Brown nor Thorne had a black Mercedes during the Aug. 1 incident.
"Let's say he's a squatter," said Johnson, "you knock on the door, and you talk to them. And you ask them, 'Hey, dude, Is this you?' I mean, how hard is that?"
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