PASSAGE OF THE DAY "I put my hands up and they grabbed me from behind and pulled me out of my seat like I was being criminalized, like a criminal that I am not." It was more than a year ago when the unlikely source of that statement was made from the back of a police cruiser. Willie Burton, the police commissioner from the 5th District in Detroit, had just been placed under arrest for disrupting a police commissioners' meeting while railing against the use of facial recognition technology by the Detroit Police Department. Alleging emotional, financial, and physical stress - including a concussion - Burton has filed a civil rights complaint in federal court against the city of Detroit and its police department.Claiming to have been falsely arrested, brutalized, and having his political career stifled, Burton said his 1st, 4th, and 5th amendment rights were violated."
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GIST: "The contentious meeting from July 11 surrounded the issue of facial recognition, a controversial technology that the Detroit Police Department has utilized to help make arrests and identify potential suspects in crimes. While the city's police chief argues it has aided the department in making arrests and taking criminals off the street, civil rights leaders ranging from community advocates all the way up to members of Congress have argued it fails to correctly identify Black citizens. The bias has led to the wrongful arrests Michael Oliver and separately Robert Williams, who police believe had stolen Shinola Watches. However, Chief James Craig argues those cases had other problems and facial recognition technology isn't the only tool used when making arrests. Instead, it serves as one component in a long process of identifying criminals and making arrests."
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MORE: READ STORY ON TODAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE AT LINK BELOW: (Police commissioner sues over arrest at board meeting," by Reporter George Hunter, published by the Detroit News on August 13, 2020.)
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: ""I was just doing my job that day," Burton said. "What happened to me could happen to you. I just want to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else." Burton claims he was arrested because the board wanted to quash his criticism of facial recognition technology, although board officials insisted he was removed because he was disrupting the meeting."
GIST: "A Detroit police commissioner filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday claiming he suffered "emotional and psychological harm, indignity, anxiety, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation ... and physical injuries" after being arrested during a police board meeting last year.
MORE: READ STORY ON TODAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE AT LINK BELOW: (Police commissioner sues over arrest at board meeting," by Reporter George Hunter, published by the Detroit News on August 13, 2020.)
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: ""I was just doing my job that day," Burton said. "What happened to me could happen to you. I just want to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else." Burton claims he was arrested because the board wanted to quash his criticism of facial recognition technology, although board officials insisted he was removed because he was disrupting the meeting."
GIST: "A Detroit police commissioner filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday claiming he suffered "emotional and psychological harm, indignity, anxiety, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation ... and physical injuries" after being arrested during a police board meeting last year.
Commissioner Willie Burton was handcuffed and escorted by police from the July 11, 2019, Board of Police Commissioners meeting at the Durfee Information Center on Detroit's west side.
The arrest followed an argument between Burton and fellow commissioners about various topics, including the police department's use of facial recognition technology.
"I will never forget that moment," Burton said at a press conference Thursday announcing the lawsuit. "I was treated like a criminal for doing the job the citizens elected me to do."
The 25-page lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, seeks more than $75,000 in damages, claiming police violated Burton's First Amendment right to free speech, his Fourth Amendment right to be free from illegal seizure, and his Fifth Amendment right to due process.
The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Detroit, Carter, police chief James Craig, who was not at the meeting, and two police officials who helped escort Burton out of the meeting, assistant police chief David LeValley and Cmdr. Nick Kyriacou. An unknown Detroit cop is also named in the suit.
Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia declined to comment Thursday. The city generally does not comment on pending litigation.
Burton said he suffered a concussion from the brief skirmish during the meeting, which was packed with residents who voiced their opinions, mostly negative, about Detroit police using facial recognition software.
Police took Burton to the Detroit Detention Center, where he was briefly locked up. No charges were filed.
"I was just doing my job that day," Burton said. "What happened to me could happen to you. I just want to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else."
Burton claims he was arrested because the board wanted to quash his criticism of facial recognition technology, although board officials insisted he was removed because he was disrupting the meeting.
Shortly after the meeting started, Wayne Circuit Judge Craig Strong swore in Lisa Carter as the new board chair. Afterward, Burton began asking what she would do differently than former chairman Willie Bell, with whom Burton had argued during previous meetings.
“You are out of order,” Carter told Burton multiple times. When Burton continued talking, as board members gave a community service award to a citizen, Carter asked officers to remove him from the room. Several officers surrounded Burton and placed him in handcuffs.
Burton's attorney Nabih Ayad said at Thursday's press briefing the officers' behavior was "outrageous."
"They should know better," Ayad said. "He was arrested while speaking truth to power. We're seeking relief so this doesn't happen to anyone else down the road."
Ayad added the COVID emergency delayed filing the lawsuit.
Burton has been a vocal critic of the police department's use of facial recognition technology, which critics say flags an inordinate number of darker-skinned people. Craig says the possibility of wrongful arrests is mitigated because multiple technicians and cops must okay a photo hit before the investigation can move forward.
Former Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, an attorney who was retained by Burton after his arrest, also appeared at Thursday's press conference. He said the board had other options than to arrest Burton.
"They could have called for a recess to let things cool down," he said. "Instead, they used the ultimate force.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/08/13/police-commissioner-sues-over-arrest-during-board-meeting/3368946001/--------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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