Video shows teen driver punched by Detroit-area police
Oct 12, 2022, 12:36 PM | Updated: 1:43 pm
DETROIT (AP) — Police officers in suburban Detroit pulled a Black teenager from a car during a traffic stop in June and repeatedly punched him in the head, according to body camera video released Wednesday in combination with a lawsuit alleging excessive force.
Tyler Wade, 17, suffered a concussion, blurred vision and had braces knocked off his teeth, attorney James King said.
Wade can be heard on the police video saying, “I’m not resisting!” as officers from Warren handcuff him. At least one officer drew a gun, while another repeatedly punched him while he was on the ground. The teen, whose face was bloody, also was kicked.
“I don’t even like to leave the house anymore. I’m scared of police,” Wade said at a news conference.
The conflict involved Warren police, but the arrest occurred nearby in Ferndale after a car chase. Wade was removed through the passenger side of his vehicle.
A lawsuit alleging that his civil rights were violated was filed in federal court.
“The brutal reality of the assault that Tyler, a 17-year-old child, suffered at the hands of the Warren police officers, a group of grown men, is not an uncommon occurrence for people who look like Tyler,” attorney Sahar Faraj said.
Wade ultimately pleaded no contest to receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle and eluding police, King said.
In June, when the confrontation was first publicized, Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer told WJBK-TV that the department’s use-of-force policy was violated and that an officer was suspended.
Dwyer declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday but said there’s “no question in my mind” that Wade was resisting officers.
___ This story has been corrected to show that the body camera video and lawsuit were released Wednesday, not Tuesday.
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