Washtenaw County Sheriff release bodycam video in punching of black woman
The Washtenaw County Sheriff has released a timeline of events leading up to the punching of a black woman by a white deputy late Monday night. The sheriff also showed body cam video from that night.
Sheriff Jerry Clayton spoke Friday at 3 p.m. and gave a timeline and body cam video and will outline what happened the night Shateina Grady El was arrested.
Ahead of Friday's press conference, protesters gathered outside of the sheriff's office demanding justice for Grady El and the woman spoke as well.
"I'm baffled but I feel like enough is enough. Enough is enough," Grady El said. "Everybody that was on the scene that did nothing to keep him from punching me...something needs (to be done.) I want justice."
You can watch the release on our Facebook page here.
The sheriff's office says they and other police agencies were in the 2000 block of Peachcrest in Ypsilanti responding to a shooting in which a 34-year-old woman was struck.
During Friday's press conference, Sheriff Clayton, who was on the scene, released the 911 call from the original caller that said there were gunshots in the area. A frantic woman can be heard yelling 'just get here now'.
Video from the first deputy who arrived in the area talked with a man who denied hearing gunshots. The deputy kept walking and then spoke with a woman who said she heard gunshots before the deputy then knocks on a door but the people inside refused to cooperate.
Deputies were then flagged down by someone who reported someone was shot in a car down the street. Deputies said the woman was shot in the back and called in an ambulance.
The deputy asked the woman where she was when she was shot and the woman said she was at the home where deputies had just been. He described the shooter as a short black man in a blue shirt and said he was inside the home.
While deputies went to the home, a female deputy started to treat the woman's wound to stop the bleeding.
Deputies then went to the home and surrounded it while banging on the door. They told people inside the description of the person they were looking for. The woman inside said she would let one deputy in but Sheriff Clayton said that is not a safe procedure.
The woman was later identified as Grady El.
Two deputies then talked with the woman who asked for a warrant. When the deputy said they don't need a warrant, the woman insisted they provide one.
Sheriff Clayton explained it was reasonable the alleged shooter was still inside the home so officers set up a perimeter and waited for a search warrant. Sheriff Clayton and other deputies negotiated one more time and then returned to their cars.
At that point, Clayton said the commanding officer made the decision that the woman would be arrested.
Clayton then showed another bodycam video that showed them walking up to the woman. As they tried to arrest her, the deputy could be heard saying 'you're biting me' while he was trying to arrest her.
The deputies used force to try to control the woman and eventually arrest her. Sheriff Clayton said the deputy hit the woman in response to her biting him. He would not comment on the officer's reactions after the apparent biting. An internal investigation is ongoing.
Her husband tried to intervene and was tasered by a deputy.
Once in the sheriff's vehicle, the woman argues with deputies and then threatens to bite another one.
Ahead of Friday's press conference, protesters gathered outside of the sheriff's office demanding justice for Grady El. FOX 2 streamed the protest on our Facebook page here.
Also on Friday, a march against police brutality is set for 4 p.m. in Detroit.
In cell phone video, a white sheriff deputy can be seen repeatedly punching a black woman on camera. That deputy has been on administrative leave while the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office reviews his use of force.
"He punched my mother three times like she was a whole guy," said Jaquisy Diggins.
Diggins says there was a party in the street that night. An altercation broke out and shots were fired soon after.
As deputies sought a potential suspect at Diggins' home on Peachcrest, the sheriff's office claims her parents refused to leave the area when deputies set up a perimeter around the house.
There was a dispute and then the apparent punches on camera.
"They asked her to back up and she did back up as you can see in the video she backed up with her hands like this and the officer still rushed my mom," Diggins said.
Their daughter claims deputies did not like that her mother was recording them. Her father was tasered.
The sheriff's office says after it collects all the information of what happened, it plans to hand the details to an outside agency for an investigation.