DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Police Department has been slapped with another lawsuit.
CAIR Michigan filed the lawsuit against two DPD officers for making an arrest without probable cause and carrying loaded Islamophobic feelings.
The body camera footage has been shared exclusively with Channel 7. CAIR says the footage shows the problematic arrest, including the following exchange:
DPD Officer Donald Owens “Muslims lie a lot. “
Unidentified Female DPD officer: “Mmmm hmmm....”
DPD Officer Donald Owens: “They control them... like they feel like... you... you... you don't have a say if you are a woman...”
Unidentified Female DPD officer: “... especially women.”
DPD Officer Donald Owens: “... you don't have the say so.. like you do what we tell you to do.”
Last year on September 26th, Officers Owens and Nathanial Mullen responded to a domestic disturbance call in Northwest Detroit. Upon arrival, three men reported being attacked by their female houseguest. At the same time, the woman says she was assaulted.
CAIR Michigan’s Staff Attorney Amy Doukoure says without a proper investigation the three men were arrested without probable cause and based on Officer Owens' Muslim biases, which is a clear rights violation.
“The order for arrest came after the statement that he really didn’t know what was going on that he was going have everyone arrested and lets someone else sort it out downtown,” says Doukoure.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of CAIR Michigan Dawud Walid says this is a deep-rooted problem within the force and a solution must be found.
“You have Black cops who are being biased to other black people because of their characteristics of religion and that’s highly problematic,” says Walid.
DPD responded with the following statement:
The Media notification of the lawsuit itself is the first notice of the alleged misconduct. This triggered an investigation, which will be thoroughly vetted by Internal Affairs. Chief White ensures the community there will be a thorough investigation.
