An activist group in Detroit has filed a lawsuit against the city’s police department.
The community-focused New Era Detroit group is suing the Detroit Police Department for allegedly abusing and harassing some of its members. A June 7 incident is the example stressed most in the 87-page complaint.
The group alleges that on that day, Mikera Manning, the secretary for New Era Detroit, and four other members were assaulted by officers before being arrested following a traffic stop. The car, which had a green light on it, was doing a community patrol when it was stopped.
The lawsuit says Police Chief James Craig had previously made it legal for the group to have a green light on their vehicles for the purpose of neighborhood patrols, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint says Manning was kicked, punched and thrown to the ground, and had some of her hair ripped out by officers.
A police spokesman says the department has no comment on the lawsuit at this time.
The city of Detroit was also named as a defendant, but Mayor Duggan’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
