CHELSEA, MI – A Chelsea police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation into a claim that he inadequately investigated an assault that occurred during a police brutality protest in a park Thursday.
“The Chelsea Police Department is currently investigating several incidents which took place on the evening of Thursday, June 25, at a demonstration in or around Pierce Park in the City of Chelsea,” the Chelsea Police Department said in a statement. “Specifically, (police) are investigating several assaults which occurred during or shortly after the demonstration in the park.”
An internal investigation was initiated regarding the officer’s response to the incident and, on June 29, the officer was placed on paid administrative leave pending the result of the ongoing internal investigation.
The incident stems from a protest organized by Anti-Racist Chelsea Youth, or ARCY, who assembled in Pierce Park to peacefully protest police brutality, according to the group’s Facebook page.
A representative of ARCY could not immediately be reached for comment.
The group alleges that, while at the park, a middle-age white woman engaged with demonstrators, peaceful at first, discussing why protesters specifically talk about Black lives, rather than all lives, according to a written statement on the group’s page.
Things quickly soured and it became clear to the organizers she was intoxicated and not interested in having an actual discussion, the group said.
The woman is accused of becoming hostile toward several Black people at the gathering and later charged at the group, punching a 16-year-old girl, the group stated.
Police were called to the scene and flagged down by protesters who told the responding officer about the 16-year-old who was assaulted, but the officer appeared to be more interested in another woman at the protest who was not involved in the assault, the statement says.
While many of the protesters had dispersed at that point, those who remained said they saw the officer interviewing the woman accused of attacking the teen across the street, then allowed her to drive away.
The girl, after later going with family members to the police station to file a report of the incident, claims she was told she has no case and that the woman is claiming the teen attacked her.
“The response of the police to this incident has confirmed what many of us have been saying since the beginning. They are not there to protect us and they would rather we leave the streets than confront the ugly reality of white supremacy in this town,” the group posted on its Facebook page.
Police are encouraging anyone with video footage of the incident to come forward.
“While it is inappropriate for elected officials to intervene in or influence an active investigation, it is important to public trust for the community to know that all complaints will be reviewed, investigated, and addressed,” Chelsea Mayor Melissa Johnson said in a written statement. “I encourage people to continue to engage with each other and with public officials in civil discourse and to treat each other with respect.”
Anyone with information about the June 25 incident is asked to contact Sgt. Rich Kinsey at 734-475-9122, extension 3, or by email at rkinsey@chelseapd.org.
Additionally, written statements may be mailed to the Chelsea Police Department at 311 S. Main Street, Chelsea MI 48118, or dropped off in the silver “Taxes and Utility Payment Box” outside the Chelsea City offices at 305 S. Main Street.
Anonymous tips may be used in the investigation, but will not be included in the police report, police said.
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