'This video is sickening,' attorney says of Detroit teen punched, kicked by Warren police
Tyler Wade’s attorney said his teenage client was repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped by Warren police officers in a vicious attack after a chase in June that began in Warren and ended in Ferndale.
And attorney James King said it’s all on police body camera footage that he released Wednesday, one day after he filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Detroit teen. A civilian also recorded the incident.
“People don’t get beat like this and stomped and assaulted and savagely attacked by grown men when they commit crimes,” King told the Free Press. “This video is sickening.”
King is suing the city of Warren and its police department as well as six police officers, who are listed by only their last names and badge numbers in the lawsuit. King didn’t include a request for damages in the 10-page complaint but said, “The city of Warren can anticipate us asking for damages in the amount of close to $20 million.” Ultimately, he noted, it will be up to a jury or judge to decide.
Headaches, blurry vision, scarring
The incident occurred June 2 after a pursuit that began in Warren. The officers approached the teen’s car, which stopped in Ferndale, with their weapons drawn and pointed at him. When they reached the car “without announcement or stating any reason,” they reached into the car and used “unreasonably excessive force to physically remove” Wade from the car, according to the complaint.
The Free Press left messages for the police commissioner and city attorney seeking comment as well as the status of the officers involved in the alleged assault.
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The complaint asserts that officers walked to the front passenger door and “aggressively yanked” on Wade's arms until they were able to drag him out of the car and onto the cement before “proceeding to brutally assault” him, “repeatedly by punching, kicking, stomping and kneeing continuously.” Video of the incident appears to corroborate that.
Wade suffers from severe and persistent headaches, the threat of a permanent loss of vision and facial cuts, according to the lawsuit.
Allegations of marijuana and a gun in the car
King said Wade was hit so hard that one of his braces came out of his mouth. He says the teen, now 17, has blurred vision in one eye and may lose sight in that eye and need surgery, and has permanent scarring on his face, among other injuries.
According to King, police alleged Wade was driving a stolen car, and that he tried to evade them by speeding away after they ordered him to stop in Warren. He said allegations include that Wade had marijuana in the car and threw a gun out of the car. King said: “We do not admit to any of these things at all.”
The pursuit went into Ferndale, where the car hit a corner and a stop sign, bringing it to a stop, King said. That’s when police pulled Wade out of the car, handcuffed him and arrested him.
King said the criminal case against Wade was resolved in Macomb County Juvenile Court, saying his client pleaded no contest to receiving a stolen vehicle and fleeing police and was sentenced to a term of probation.
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'Like a nightmare'
King said the civilian video of the incident was helpful, because the teen initially encountered doubts when he said he was being assaulted by the officers.
King said when they requested discovery during the criminal case, including body camera and dashcam footage, “it showed exactly what Tyler described, which was like a nightmare.” He said his client complied with every order.
King said one officer, without a word, punched Wade nine times in the face and then again after another officer tried to intervene. He said that another officer also punched Wade several times and that his client also was kicked twice and stomped at least three times.
King said emergency medical technicians asked what happened to Wade for the purposes of treatment, and one of the officers “was not being completely candid” about how the teen's injuries occurred.
King said Wade had no criminal background or prior contact with police before to this incident.
He said he believes race played a role in what transpired — Wade is Black and King said it appears all but one of the officers are white.
“People who have committed far worse crimes than Tyler Wade have been arrested by police in the city of Warren and other cities like the city of Warren, and they do not look like Tyler did at the conclusion of that arrest,” King said.
Contact Christina Hall at chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawsuit: Detroit teen punched, kicked, stomped by Warren police
