The Detroit Police Department launched an investigation after one of its cruisers was caught on video through a crowd of protesters who had surrounded it, sending protesters falling off the hood of the vehicle.
The shocking incident unfolded Sunday night after a demonstration in the area against police brutality, deportations and other problems, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“It was super fast. Me and a couple of other organizers who were with me just flew off. We flew out, ”Jae Bass, a 24-year-old who claimed to be one of the men seen lying on the ground in the video, told the newspaper.
“He ran over the arms, the feet of a couple of people,” Bass added. “I think I was the last person in the car. I was just grabbing the car. I could feel it speeding up and then … he threw me (sic) out of the car. “
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The video of the incident, which was posted on Facebook and went viral, begins with a crowd surrounding the vehicle as they shout, “There is no justice, there is no peace!”
As one protester leans against the hood of the SUV, which has its sirens blasting at full volume, other protesters move.
The police cruiser then advances a few inches before its driver accelerates rapidly, and some of those on the hood fall to the ground.
The SUV then accelerates and brakes multiple times to clear the remaining protesters. A man is seen clinging to the cruise ship as she runs down the street, repeatedly shouting, “Oh my gosh!” You can hear it coming from the protesters.
The video ends with protesters running behind the vehicle.
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Police say officers in the area were trying to redirect protesters marching along a faster route back to the park where the rally was held earlier in the day. The scene, they say, escalated after one of the protesters broke the cruise ship’s rear window.
“There is a strong crash or blow in the back of the police car. And again in his mind, because according to our investigation, they believed that they could be shot or shot, and so they had to take quick and evasive action, “Police Chief James Craig told reporters on Monday.” When you speak Training, if you run into an ambush situation, the proper course is to get out for your safety and that is exactly what these officers chose to do. “
“We don’t know what broke the window, it could have been a skateboard, it could have been anything.” “But whatever it is, it certainly created enough concern for the officers and their safety and to get out.”
Craig also said that no officers were injured in the incident and that the department was not aware of any other injuries.
He also said there were “repeated efforts by at least some of the 25 to 30 [protesters] to gain access to the interior of the car where the officers were. “
Bass, meanwhile, told the Detroit Free Press that police were trying to stop the crowd from returning to the park.
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He added that he tried to corner the protesters around the obstacle and stood in front of the vehicle in hopes of preventing it from moving, out of concern for the other protesters.
“In response to that, he just shot him down,” Bass told the newspaper.