Port Huron police say officers followed policy when responding to death outside Roche Bar
PORT HURON, Mich. (FOX 2) - Officers who responded to a bar where a man died while being held down by bouncers followed department policy, the Port Huron Police Department said Thursday.
Joshua Conant, 26, died Nov. 6 outside Roche Bar. Video showed security guards on top of Conant outside the bar on Quay Street near Michigan Street.
Police started CPR on Conant before he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Port Huron father broken-hearted after son's death outside bar; 'They squeezed the life out of my son'
"They had no right touching my kid," Mike Conant said of his 26-year-old son's death after bouncers pinned him to the ground outside a bar in Port Huron.
"The police officer comes up and says, ‘Stop resisting,’ and people in the crowd are like ‘he’s not resisting, he's not even breathing. Get off of him,'" witness Patty James said after Conant's death.
Witnesses say Conant was not involved in a physical fight before his death. They say he was verbally trying to protect women who were being harassed at the bar.
An administrative review by the department found that the officers "followed policy and they used their training effectively." The department went on to say that the "officers acted professionally throughout this stressful incident."
All officers have returned to full duty.
Michigan State Police are still investigating the actions of the bouncers.