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Man claims Detroit police beat him during arrest, DPD chief releases video to the contrary

By , David Komer and online producer
Published  March 16, 2023 8:25pm EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

Man claims police brutality, but DPD Chief releases video showing otherwise

In this case, DPD Chief James White came with receipts starting with a still image from officer body-worn cameras that shows how Samuel McCray’s face looked right when officers arrived.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit Police Department is facing a lawsuit accused of using excessive force after a man claims officers roughed him up for no reason.

Chief James White says that's not true, and he has the video to prove it.

"My pain is like a 9 or a 10 right now," said Samuel McCray.

McCray claims Detroit police officers left his face bruised, swollen and stitched up with a black eye.

"They just picked me up off the ground and slammed me," he said.

McCray and his attorney Maurice Davis told FOX 2 Thursday, it happened two days before, at a gas station at Telegraph and Seven Mile. Cops were called there, for a fight between McCray and another guy.

But the attorney claims that fight did not cause the injuries. 

"None of the scars you see are not from the other individual they all came from the officers," Davis said.

Chief White begs to differ.

"Our officers did nothing wrong in this instance, absolutely nothing wrong," he said.

And in this case – the chief came with receipts, starting with a still image from an officer's body-worn cameras that shows McCray’s facial injuries when officers arrived.

"The moment officers arrived, you can see that the complainant has already been assaulted for 10 minutes - and violently assaulted," White said.

A sample of that fight can be seen on security video, which includes a kick to the face, by his sister’s boyfriend.

The chief says McCray antagonizes on and off for 10 minutes before officers are called.

"When the officers arrive, they are witnessing an assault, that is an arrestable offense," White said. "At the very least, it is an (assault and battery) in the officers' presence which they can arrest for, immediately."

And that is why Chief White says they attempted to handcuff McCray – even calling this a textbook arrest, even lowering him to the ground as he actively resisted. Video shows then he was lowered again on his stomach, but his face doesn’t hit the ground.

Chief says it doesn’t match the dramatic body slam McCray and his attorney described.

"For an attorney to use this circumstance to try to capitalize on the emotions of a community, it's just improper and I think it’s shameful," White said.

No one ended up getting charged here.

Now McCray’s attorney, Maurice Davis, says he has not seen this video and he has not formally filed suit against DPD. It will be interesting to see if the suit is still filed after this police video release.