Family of man at center of excessive force investigation in Washtenaw County speaks out
The family of the man at the center of a Washtenaw County investigation is speaking out.
It comes after the sheriff's office released police body camera footage that shows an arrest that's now the subject of an internal affairs investigation for excessive force.
"I was scared. I was thinking he was severely injured," said the mother of the driver, Cheryl Stewart.
Stewart, mother of 35-year-old Derrick Tinsley, who was seen in a police body camera with his hands up when deputies knocked him to the ground. Moments earlier, the footage shows deputies telling Tinsley to stop before he drives through caution tape that was blocking off an armed barricaded situation on Harris Road in Ypsilanti Township last Saturday.
Tinsley later returned, and deputies tried to stop him again. Deputies say he ignored commands to stop, so they used a tire-deflation device to stop the vehicle. That's when Tinsley came out with his hands up.
Stewart said the family and her son are embarrassed by what happened.
"I asked him why what happened and he said he didn't know," said Stewart.
According to court documents, Tinsley is charged with assaulting/resisting/obstructing police officers. Deputies say he appeared intoxicated and had children in the vehicle.
No one was injured.
Former Detroit Assistant Police Chief Steve Dolunt said officers should have de-escalated once the driver surrendered.
"My initial reaction was, ' Why would you push this guy so hard when his hands are in the air?'" said Dolunt.
Watching the video back, Dolunt noted that the driver did not follow the deputies' orders when they told him to get on the ground. He also said the situation could have ended way worse for the driver.
"If you came at me in a car driving through police in yellow tape, I would get my gun out. I don't know if you were going to hurt me. It's dark, I don't know if there are kids in the car, it could have been terrible," said Dolunt.
A statement by the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said it appreciates the community's concern about what happened at the scene. The department said it is conducting its own investigation into what was said at the time and the force the officer used.
