GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A video showing an arrest and subsequent altercation involving Grand Rapids police has sparked significant attention, amassing over 100,000 views on Facebook.
The cell phone video shows a physical interaction with police officers in the parking lot of a business on Kalamazoo Avenue on the south side of Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom addressed the video, stating, "I believe what happened is they thought they were taking the moral high ground and inserting themselves in a situation that they really didn't understand what was going on, and unfortunately, took it a little too far. So the context is what's important."
Context from one of the men arrested was provided in a public Facebook post Friday evening. He says in his post, "It was when they were arresting the third young man that they told us to move again and that we were going to be arrested for failure to comply with a lawful order. So they came and arrested me..."
Chief Winstrom noted that he has received numerous inquiries regarding the incident. He explained that the video was recorded from a distance and only offers one perspective. According to the chief, individuals involved made the decision to intervene despite being given lawful commands to step back, leading to an escalation where Chief Winstrom says they put hands on the officer first.
Additionally, Winstrom expressed his frustration about the timing of the video's circulation, mentioning the tragic context in which it emerged: "One of the things I'll share candidly, a frustration that I have is I got so much communication about this video going around the morning that we lost a 15-year-old girl to gun violence, and it's these officers that are out there doing exactly what they need to do to bring safety for the city, and I hold my officers to a very high standard, the highest in the area by far."
The chief confirmed that he has watched the video and stands by the actions of his officers.
In response to the video's impact, Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack announced on Facebook that he will be hosting a community meeting at City Hall on Tuesday at 7 PM to discuss the incident.
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