Attorney Geoffrey Fieger has filed a $25 million lawsuit on behalf of a man who was beaten by an off-duty Detroit police officer at Meijer last week.
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The lawsuit filed on behalf of David Bivins is against Meijer. Bivins was standing in the lobby of the store on 8 Mile near Woodward when he was accused of shoplifting. The press release said he was waiting for his fiancèe, Hillary, to return from the bathroom.
The off-duty police officer, who was working security for Meijer, approached him and demanded to see his receipts. Bivins refused to answer.
The female and store security are then seen leaving. The 23-year-old then began swearing at the officer, when things quickly escalated.
“The young man the suspect then began to force the officer to the ground, he administer a blow striking the suspect in the face,” DPD Chief James Craig says. “Once the officer struck him it de-escalated at that point, but he was still actively resisting.”
The officer has been suspended from his job at Meijer but not from the department.
Craig said the department will not ask the prosecutor to pursue disorderly conduct or resistance charges in the case.
There was no evidence the man stole anything from the store.
