Courtesy of Marko Law
An X-ray image shows damage to Daniel Reiff’s eye after a Clinton Township cop punched him in the face.
A man who was punched and permanently blinded in one eye by a Clinton Township cop filed a federal lawsuit against the officer, the department, and the township, alleging excessive force.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court last week alleges Daniel Reiff, of Clinton Township, was minding his own business while walking to a friend’s house on April 2, 2021, when officers approached him.
The cops were responding to a complaint from a caller who said something “didn’t seem right” about two men walking down the street.
Courtesy of Marko Law
Daniel Reiff’s injury to his eye.
Feeling threatened, Reiff fled and was pursued by police in their cruisers. Officer Broc Setty sped the wrong way down a three-lane road before getting out of his cruiser and chasing Reiff on foot, video shows.
“I’m going to taze you, dude,” Setty yelled at Reiff. “Yea, baby! Whooo!”
When Setty caught up with Reiff, he surrendered and said, “I’m done.”
Winded from running, Reiff collapsed on all fours. Setty demanded Reiff get on his “fucking stomach or I’ll punch you!”
That’s when Setty punched Reiff in the left eye, fracturing his orbital bone in two places and rupturing his eye globe. The injury left Reiff permanently blind, according to the lawsuit.
“This incident, as evidenced by the video footage, unfortunately shows another instance of a police officer violating an innocent individual’s civil rights,” Reiff’s attorney, Jonathan Marko of Marko Law, said Monday in a statement. “An officer’s first duty is to protect and serve. A citizen had complained about a suspicious person, not about witnessing a crime. The officers chased the alleged ‘suspicious person’ out of the area. That should have been the end. But instead, an act of violence took place and Mr. Reiff is now not only blind, but also broken and traumatized.”
Marko said the assault should alarm township residents.
“Mr. Reiff never committed a crime. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Marko said. “That means anyone in the community was in danger of the Clinton Township police department’s excessive force that night. What’s even more disturbing is that we don’t believe Setty was ever disciplined by Clinton Township for blinding Mr. Reiff.”
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