WARREN, MI (WXYZ) — A 19-year-old man struck in the head while in Warren Police Custody is suing the department, the city of Warren and three officers for $50 million.
Jaquwan John Smith was in the custody of the Warren Police Department on June 13, 2023. While in the booking room, Officer Matthew James Rodriguez struck Smith in the head, with such force that it knocked him to the ground. At the time two other officers were also in the booking room and helped Rodriguez pin Smith down. Later, Officer Rodriguez is seen dragging the 19-year-old by his hair before throwing him into a jail cell.
The entire incident was caught on surveillance cameras.
“This is one of the most flagrant cases of police misconduct I’ve seen in my entire career as a trial attorney," James Harrington, a managing partner of Fieger Law, said in a statement. "The sheer violence and disregard for human life that these three officers showed is despicable and cannot be tolerated.”
According to Feiger Law, this is the third lawsuit against Officer Rodriguez during his tenure at the City of Warren Police Department involving claims of excessive force, failure to intervene, and state law claims of assault and battery.
“You know, we have almost over 300 officers in this department. So the problem I have is 299 of those officers, they’re good,” Warren Police Department Commissioner William Dwyer said during a press conference. “Don’t condemn and don’t creep the other 200 and some odd officers because of the actions of one officer. One officer that is gonna pay the price and I’ve said that before.”
Feiger Law plans on holding a press conference at 1 p.m. to further discuss the lawsuit.
