Student claims false arrest

• Tweet
• 

Two CMU students complained to city commissioners July 26 that they were treated unfairly and mistakenly suspected when stopped by police shortly after Keith’s Shell Station, at the corner of Mission and Broomfield streets, was robbed July 22.
Director of Public Safety Bill Yeagley, is conducting an investigation, after one of the two individuals filed a complaint, in response to what became a felony stop, including an arrest for possession of marijuana.
Kermit Harris, Mount Pleasant freshman, said he and Mount Pleasant resident Taneka Richardson were leaving the Forum, 950 Appian Way, around 4:30 a.m. July 23 when they were stopped in the Lil’ Chef, 1720 S. Mission Road, parking lot by police.
“I had guns pointed to my head. It was humiliating, we were humiliated in public,” Harris said.
Harris, who said he has a clean record, said they were told to step out of the car one at a time with their hands on their heads, and placed into police cars.
“It was like ‘driver, stick your hands above your head,’” he said. “We had like 12 people staring out the window (of the restaurant) at us.”
One of those people, Harris said, was City Commissioner Cynthia Bradley’s daughter. Harris said she saw the whole event. Neither Bradley nor her daughter could be reached for comment at press time.
Harris said the police told him they were looking for a car – much like Richardson’s – that fit the description of the vehicle involved in Thursday’s robbery.
Harris said he and Richardson saw the robbers leaving the area on foot on July 22 – two white males with baggy clothes – and told officers while in the parking lot July 23, but they didn’t listen. Harris said he believed officers were looking for men who fit the description, one he says anyone can fit.
“They were missing an opportunity to catch people and I was scared out of my gourd,” Harris said. “I knew it had to be mistaken identity or something.
“I’m a college kid,” he said. “I wear baggy clothes, have a few piercing and I look a little weird. But how many other people look like that description?”
Police let Richardson go after a 45-minute detainment because she didn’t fit the description, Harris said.
Marijuana was found by police stuck under a seat. Harris was arrested for possession of marijuana and taken to the Isabella County Jail overnight and released on a $2,000 bond.
Harris said he’d be happy if the charges against him for were dropped, but he also wants an apology from all branches of police involved.
This has affected his view of police and his peace of mind, Harris said.
“The cops in this town f—–g suck,” he said. “I’m pissed off, you know.”
Harris said since the incident he has had trouble sleeping and has never been to jail or near firearms before.
“I believe they were going to arrest somebody, one of us, after they went through all that or they would have looked bad,” he said.
However, Harris said he “doesn’t want to cause trouble and make the police look bad.”
Yeagley said he received a complaint from Richardson Monday. By the afternoon of July 26, Yeagley said he had contacted the complainants and set up an appointment to meet with them for Thursday.
“It would be inappropriate for me to try to respond to those complaints before I talk to the people involved in the complaint,” he said, referring to Harris’ statements in this story.
Richardson could not be reached for comment at press time.
The report on the investigation Yeagley is undertaking will be done in seven to 10 days. Yeagley’s final report will then go to the city commission and City Manager Paul Preston, who will then decide when a meeting is to happen on the issue.
City Commissioner Sharon Tilmann said the commission is following correct procedure with the situation, but right now there’s not much for them to do until a report from Yeagley is received.
“That’s not to say we’ll do nothing,” she said. “I’m sure there’s a possibility it can be resolved in conference.
“I think the position of most of the commissioners is that one of the things we’ve tried to do is have citizen involvement and that’s citizen involvement.”
In general, not referring to the case in any form, Yeagley said felony stops are made when there is “reasonable suspicion,” the people in the car are armed or may have been involved in a crime.
“Reasonable suspicion means a reasonable, prudent person would come to the same conclusion,” Yeagley said.
Yeagley gave a fictitious example to illustrate reasonable suspicion: A police radio goes off and there’s a breaking and entering where witnesses believe they saw a 30-year-old white female with a gun and pink shirt leaving the scene.
“While responding, they see a car driven by a white male with a white female as a passenger at 3 a.m. The car is seen pulling out of an alley just a block from the crime.”
Yeagley said this type of circumstance is an example of when a “felony stop would be made as all Michigan police training says” would be justifiable.
To make a general felony stop, Yeagley said car lights are activated to try and get the suspects to stop.
“The officers must control the subjects as much as possible,” Yeagley said. “If they’re armed they can inflict injury on the officers, bystanders or even each other.”
The individuals stopped are told to put their hands behind their backs so there’s “less chance to inflict harm,” and they lay on the ground with their arms out, are handcuffed and put into separate cop cars. Then the suspect’s car is checked for other people who may be hiding or weapons. Officers then begin asking questions. If there’s evidence of a crime or a weapon, the suspects are taken to jail.
If the suspects aren’t the wanted people, Yeagley said he “would say ‘sorry and apologize for the inconvenience in delaying your evening.’
“What I wouldn’t say is ‘sorry for doing my job the way the people expect me to do to keep this community safe.’”
The police report – which differs from Yeagley’s report on the complaint – on the matter has been closed and is being forwarded to the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the police report, after the traffic stop was made, Harris took off his hat. While waiting for backup, five officers came in for assistance, including CMU Police Officer Jason vonReichbauer.
Richardson was ordered out of the vehicle and handcuffed. The same was done with Harris and after he was placed in a patrol car, officers went to the vehicle to see if the hat was the same hat suspects in the armed robbery were allegedly wearing. The hat couldn’t be seen in the vehicle, so officers looked under the passenger seat and upon pulling it out, found about three grams of marijuana.
Harris was questioned, and told officers, when asked why he removed his hat, “to hide the pot.” When asked why he was hiding it, he said, “The driver, Richardson, had told him to.”
He said the marijuana was not his, but a friend’s, and that it was in the console by the emergency brake before he moved it. When asked if he planned on smoking the marijuana, Harris said, “Maybe.” He was also asked if when he met up with his friend who owned the marijuana if he would smoke it. He said, “Yes, we would have probably ended up smoking it.”