GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — A Grand Rapids Police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after punching a driver close to 30 times in the leg during a traffic stop Sunday.
Video of the incident was posted on Facebook and has been shared thousands of times.
Interim police chief David Kiddle addressed the traffic stop and the officer's actions on Monday at a press conference. He also addressed another recent arrest, where a Grand Rapids Police officer drew his weapon on two teenagers. Kiddle said in both cases there was a "complete defiance to authority and lack of simple cooperation."
Police stopped the driver for speeding and he pulled his car into a relative's driveway on the westside of Grand Rapids near California Street NW and National Avenue NW.
Kiddle said the driver did not give the officers his driver's license nor his name, and he did not get out of the car.
There was also a small child in the backseat of the car. Kent County Commissioner Robert S. Womack said the child is 2 years old.
"The driver started his car, rolled up his window, started honking his horn and reaching around inside the vehicle where the officer could not see," said Kiddle.
A GRPD officer then broke the window of the car, sprayed the driver with pepper spray and removed him from the vehicle.
In the video posted on social media, one officer yells "You're going to get Tased if you don't get out." The man was pulled out of the car by two other officers and was hit with a Taser.
More police were called to the scene because the officer conducting the stop was not answering radio calls from dispatch, which is common protocol.
The officer who was placed on leave was one of the units called in to assist. He started using curse words and struck the driver on the thigh during the arrest, Kiddle said.
A command staff member made a formal complaint to internal affairs on Monday morning, bringing the case to the interim police chief's attention.
"After reviewing the videos and reading the reports, I have strong concerns over the actions of the assisting officer on scene," said Kiddle. "I do not doubt that the driver needed to be arrested, and it is clear that he would not willingly be taken into custody."
Kiddle said that one officer was "quick to escalate the situation beyond the point that was necessary" when he starting punching the driver on the leg.
"Regardless of the driver's behavior and language, we have standards of professional conduct, which clearly were not upheld in this situation."
The driver was not injured and did not ask for medical attention. He was lodged in the Kent County Jail Sunday for warrants, driving on a suspended license and resisting arrest.
Kiddle said that the child was also not injured during the arrest, but Commissioner Womack expressed concerns about the 2-year-old witnessing his father being hit by police.
"How is he going to grow up looking at police? This is his first contact at 2 years old with the Grand Rapids Police Department, and it's an officer hitting his father 29 times," said Womack.
A video of the arrest was shared on Facebook Sunday night, prompting criticisms of police.
Kiddle addressed the comments from the public that said the driver's race was a factor in the arrest.
"There is also no standard for handling an incident differently based on race as some may have claimed," said Kiddle. "These are not racialized incidents but the wording has become increasingly popular among groups that are using the Grand Rapids Police Department as a platform to launch their special interests.
"We are not a spring board to be used, nor is it appropriate to make widely blanket accusations in place of healthy debate and discussion," he said.
Cle Jackson the president of the NAACP of the greater Grand Rapids said he didn't understand Kiddle's comments about race.
"I don't know what special interest groups he's talking about. I would like to get some clarification on that," Jackson said. "The reality is this, however, I don't think it takes anyone—whether it's a private citizen or a 'special interest group' to understand that racial profiling is real."
Commissioner Womack also attended the press conference Monday, and he said he is glad the GRPD admitted that they do not condone the officer's behavior.
"But to be on paid administrative leave, that is a joke, and I hope this investigation moves along quickly so justice can be meted out," said Womack. “I really want to see justice. I want to see the Grand Rapids Police Department step up to the plate and show us what happens when a person uses excessive force.”
Womack indicated the department should fire the officer.
"When you hit somebody 29 times, I don't know how we trust you to continue on as being a part of the Grand Rapids Police Department. When you hit somebody 29 times, you are not representative of the Grand Rapids Police Department" he said. "If they fire him, that will prove that. If they don't, that's showing intolerance."
Kiddle said that both police departments and the community have responsibilities when interacting with each other.
"It is the responsibility of law enforcement to treat everyone fairly," he said. "It is the responsibility of the community to comply with an officer's request."
Kiddle did not name the officer who was placed on leave, nor did he said if he had previously been investigated for use of force.
Jackson said the NAACP plans to do a Freedom of Information request on the officer that hit the driver to see if there is a history of excessive force. They will also follow-up with city leadership about this incident and the case involving the teens.
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