A state trooper in Michigan has been acquitted by a jury after being charged with felonious assault for utilizing a police canine to subdue an unarmed, injured man in 2020, prosecutors stated.
The encounter, which was recorded on a dashboard digital camera, occurred on Nov. 13, 2020, in Lansing, Mich., when the trooper, Parker Surbrook, tried to drag over a car whose driver, later recognized as Robert Gilliam, and passenger have been suspected of being armed, the authorities stated. Trooper Surbrook was a part of a violent crime discount unit made up of a number of regulation enforcement jurisdictions on the time.
During the cease, nonetheless, Mr. Gilliam sped off, prompting a chase that ended when his car crashed right into a tree, in keeping with dashboard digital camera footage launched by the authorities in 2021 and an investigation by the Michigan State Police. Mr. Gilliam acquired out of the automobile and fell to the bottom with a fractured hip, in keeping with the investigation report, which didn’t identify the passenger.
Trooper Surbrook, who labored within the canine unit with a German shepherd named Knox, instructed the canine to subdue Mr. Gilliam, who may be heard within the video pleading for the trooper to drag Knox off him. The video confirmed the canine placing Mr. Gilliam right into a maintain, and it appeared to chew him a number of instances.
“Stay on him,” Trooper Surbrook may be heard telling the canine within the video. “Good boy.”
Officers stated they recovered a handgun from the unnamed passenger, who was handcuffed, because the canine remained on Mr. Gilliam, who repeatedly begged for the animal to be eliminated. Mr. Gilliam was hospitalized for the hip fracture and handled for chew accidents, the investigation report stated. He was not charged with any crimes.
Trooper Surbrook was suspended with out pay, faraway from the canine unit and charged with felonious assault in 2021 after the incident. The cost carried a penalty of as much as 4 years in jail. He pleaded not responsible and was granted $5,000 bond, in keeping with court docket data.
The director of the Michigan State Police, Col. Joseph Gasper, stated in an announcement on the time that the trooper’s actions weren’t in step with requirements {of professional} conduct or coaching and coverage for canine handlers. Patrick O’Keefe, a lawyer for the trooper, stated on the time that his consumer’s use of drive was justified and that the video didn’t present the total context of the confrontation.
On Tuesday, in Michigan’s thirtieth Judicial Circuit Court, a jury discovered Trooper Surbrook not responsible, in keeping with an assertion by prosecutors. The Lansing State Journal reported that the decision got here after about two and a half hours of jury deliberation and a three-day trial.
Mr. O’Keefe stated, in keeping with The Journal’s report, that Trooper Surbrook acted fairly throughout “a highly stressful, potentially lethal situation” through which backup officers took an unusually very long time to reach on the scene. Mr. O’Keefe couldn’t be reached for touch upon Thursday.
“Yes, he fled. Yes, he committed a felony,” Kristen Rolph, an assistant prosecutor, stated about Mr. Gilliam in her closing argument, in keeping with The Journal. “That doesn’t mean that what happened to him was something he deserved.”
The Michigan State Police stated on Thursday that Trooper Surbrook would stay on administrative go away pending the end result of an inside affairs investigation. His standing within the canine unit could be decided after the investigation’s completion, the police stated.
Mr. Gilliam nonetheless has a federal case pending towards the State of Michigan and Trooper Surbrook, in search of damages and a jury trial. His lawyer in that case couldn’t be reached for touch upon Thursday.
Source: www.nytimes.com