Security cameras from a party shop on 7 Mile capture what at first appears to be a routine traffic stop (later reports suggest the driver had no seatbelt, no registration, no license, and expired plates), but the stop turns ugly when the woman and the officer begin to bicker, prompting an attempted arrest (later reports suggest the driver threatened the officer).
Around 0:17, the driver gets out of her vehicle, and the conversation between the woman and the officer escalates around 0:30 (lots of finger pointing going on here). But at 1:03, the officer grabs the woman and literally flings her to the ground. In the scuffle, around 1:14 and 1:16, it appears the officer strikes the woman repeatedly in the face as she tries to defend herself and break away.
The party store owner, who shows up in the footage in an orange hood, said he verbally intervened when he saw the officer striking the woman. "He punched her twice on the face. I told the officer stop hitting her twice and that's when he stopped," the owner told WXYZ.
Ultimately, the woman ended up in handcuffs in the back of the patrol car. She was taken first to the hospital, her family said, and later she was booked for resisting arrest and obstructing the law.
Detroit PD maintain their man took the right course of action, given that he felt threatened, but the woman's family says the officer went too far.
The incident is currently under investigation and will be reviewed by the department.
