LOWELL, Mich. — An officer with the Lowell Police Department has been accused of kicking an opossum and acting aggressively toward a resident in the area after responding to an incident. However, Lowell PD has shot down those accusations, calling them "inaccurate."
This started with a Facebook post that was made early Wednesday morning at 12:54 a.m. by the accuser in this incident. The post calls out the Lowell Police Department for an interaction that happened just minutes before.
The poster said they were stopped in the middle of the road because of an injured opossum. A Lowell police officer showed up to the scene and was allegedly aggressive toward the poster and the opossum.
The poster claimed he was cursed at, with the officer apparently asking, "Why the f*** are you blocking the road? You're really blocking the road for a f****** opossum?"
The post had almost 3,000 likes and more than 6,500 shares at last check late Friday afternoon. There's also a possible protest planned for next week in response.
Lowell PD has been in touch with FOX 17 and sent over body cam footage from the officer in question, along with an interview they recorded with the person who filed the complaint, and the written complaint that was filed.
They also sent us this statement:
"On Wednesday around midnight, an officer on patrol responded to a vehicle stopped in the middle of Alden Nash Avenue SE, an area where speeds often top 55 mph. The vehicle’s driver explained to the officer that he was stopped out of fear for the safety of possums in the road. Our officer saw two possums that appeared dead lying in the middle of the road and then moved them out of the traffic lane.
The driver has since filed a complaint against our officer’s actions during this incident, and we have investigated but found no wrongdoing by the officer. Some social media posts have made inaccurate allegations about the animals being kicked or the driver being sworn at when neither was the case. While our officer used inappropriate language at the scene, it was only in the presence of a fellow deputy and after the driver had departed. The officer has been reprimanded for his language.
We have submitted our report to the Kent County Prosecutor for an independent review. The Lowell Police Department takes all community complaints seriously and investigates them to ensure we are providing fair and responsive service."
The person who filed the complaint has seen the body cam footage and is sticking to his statement. The man told FOX 17 he's hired lawyers and will be moving forward with his complaint.
