ZEELAND, Mich. — A Holland man is accusing the Zeeland Police Department of racial profiling after being pulled over for a speeding violation and then questioned heavily about being under the influence of drugs.
Toriyon Mitchell, 30, has since filed an official complaint with the Grand Rapids Branch of the NAACP.
On Sunday, Jan. 30 around 10 p.m., Mitchell said he was delivering for DoorDash when he was pulled over by a Zeeland Police Officer.
The officer told Mitchell that he was traveling more than 120 miles per hour.
Mitchell denies driving over the speed limit. The officer asked for his license, and then asked him to step out of his car. During that time, several other officers showed up to the scene.
In the body camera video obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE, you can see the officer patting down Mitchell, taking things out of his pocket, and repeatedly accusing him of being on drugs. Mitchell's car was searched but officers did not find anything suspicious and he was ticketed for speeding.
Watch that footage below:
Mitchell said he believes wholeheartedly that this was a situation of racial profiling.
"The officer said I could make it easier on myself if I just tell them where the drugs are," Mitchell said. "He also got to questioning me about my intelligence, asking me what's the highest grade I've completed, if I knew how to read and write and even if I can tell time."
"It was just really degrading," Mitchell said.
After requests from 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Zeeland Police Chief Tim Jungel said in a statement:
"On January 30th, 2022 at approximately 10:20 pm an officer from the Zeeland Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for traveling 120-mph in a 55-mph zone on BL-196 in the City of Zeeland. The vehicle traveled another mile, turned Northbound onto 104th Ave and stopped just South of Chicago Dr. The driver was given Standard Field Sobriety tests. He passed those tests. He was issued a citation for speeding and released. The subject requested an informal hearing in the 58th District Court to contest the citation and was found responsible for the violation. The incident was captured on Body Cameras."
Mitchell requested an informal hearing to contest the citation and was found responsible for the violation last week.
He asked for a continuation and plans on fighting the ticket with the NAACP because he said it's affected his life greatly and his ability to do his job.
"We'll send a notice to the Chief of Police and ask for a sit down to have a conversation around what has taken place," said Cle Jackson, the President of the Grand Rapids NAACP Branch.
"We'll also dually file this with our partners, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights because they have subpoenas and full investigatory abilities through the Office of the Attorney General, and we'll make the FBI aware."
"We as a community need to demand better, and we cannot accept that behavior by our local law enforcement agents," Jackson said. "It's too critical and we cannot settle for this type of behavior."
"The reason I'm making a big deal out of this is because things need to change," Mitchell said. "I'm just going to keep getting bullied by the system if I let this go."
Watch the dash cam footage here:
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