GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On Sept. 3, the Grand Rapids Police Department arrested a Black man in a parking lot off of 28th Street. His arrest was captured on cell phone video by several bystanders.
Those videos have since gone viral, being viewed thousands of times on several social media platforms.
The video shows the man first kneeling and then lying on the ground, surrounded by GRPD and a K9. Bystanders can be heard saying that he was an employee of a nearby McDonald’s who went to the restaurant that day to pick up his check.
GRPD said they surrounded him and then arrested him because he matched the description of a burglary suspect that happened near the McDonald's. However, the bystanders said he was at the restaurant for a few hours that day.
GRPD released the following statement saying:
“GRPD responded to a call of a burglary in progress at a neighboring building. While checking the area officers observed a subject matching the suspect description. Contact was made and the subject was not cooperative, which resulted in his arrest. The investigation is ongoing."We understand that sometimes bystanders may be upset or concerned about a police contact, but that is not the time to engage or interfere with the officers. That could easily lead to someone getting hurt. GRPD officers will always listen to those who have information in order to ensure appropriate action is taken, but only once the scene is safe.”
Court documents showed that the man was arrested for malicious destruction of police property and attempted assault/resisting of a police officer. Both were filed on Sept. 4 with a violation date of Sept. 3.
FOX 17 reached out to the man’s mother, who declined an interview, per her defense team’s request, for now. However, she gave us permission to air the video.
FOX 17 also went to the 61st District Court to look at the affidavit. However, the documents were not available at that time.
The Grand Rapids Office of Oversight and Public Accountability released the following statement in response to the arrest:
**Correction: In an earlier vision of this article incorrectly identified the location of the nearby McDonald’s. This article has been updated to show the incident actually happened outside of the McDonald’s off of 28th Street east of Breton in Kentwood. We apologize for this error.
