In September 2017 an Ann Arbor police officer unnecessarily grabbed and slapped handcuffs on Ciaeem Slaton, a 16-year-old African American student, at the Ann Arbor Transit Center.
In response, concerned community members staged a protest about the incident and asked the ACLU of Michigan to investigate. After reviewing a video of the incident and the police report, we sent a letter to the Ann Arbor police department raising questions and concerns about whether the confrontation between Ciaeem and the officer could have been avoided altogether if the officer had proper de-escalation training. The letter requested that the department review its de-escalation and use-of-force policies in light of the incident.
An Ann Arbor police official and the city attorney then met with the Washtenaw County ACLU Lawyers Committee to discuss the incident and explain the new policy and training on de-escalation techniques that the city was implementing.
(ACLU Attorneys Mark Fancher and Michael J. Steinberg; Cooperating Attorneys John Shea, Nick Roumel, and Gayle Rosen.)