GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A cell phone video captured a moment when a Grand Rapids police officer threw handcuffed Marvin Walton to the ground during an arrest.
Walton, 28, was at his grandmother’s home on Prospect Street SE in Grand Rapids on Thursday when police arrived to arrest him on a warrant for failure to pay child support.
“I heard the talking out here,” said Annie Walton, the suspect’s grandmother. “I rushed to the door, and that’s when they were grabbing him up.”
Walton was in handcuffs and being led to a police cruiser when his brother started to record video on his cell phone.
The brief video shows Walton get thrown to the ground.
Blood could still be seen on the sidewalk where Walton was taken down.
“We did take the subject (Walton) to the hospital for treatment after applying first aid to him at the scene,” said GRPD Capt. Eric Payne, “and then he was lodged at the Kent County Jail on his warrants.”
Police said anytime someone is injured, the GRPD internal affairs office looks into it. FOX 17 showed the video to police, and they said that, when the video is slowed down, it shows Walton trying to get away from the officer.
“Sometimes people go without any problems, and that’s what we would hope would happen,” said Capt. Payne. “In this case, he did resist and tried to pull away, and the officer had to take him to the ground, and he was taken to the ground.”
The Walton family sees things a differently.
“That is no way to do a person,” said Walton’s grandmother. “I mean, I wouldn’t even do a dog that way.”
Police said the final call will come from the internal affairs department.
“There is review of the video tapes, the audio, if anyone else has video of the incident we hope they would send it in,” said Captain Payne. “Everyone has camera phones now. We try to gather as much information as possible, so a fair determination will be made on the incident.”
Walton has a criminal history that includes drug possession and fleeing from police.
