The Brief
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Detroit police are giving their side of a viral story where a man was arrested at a gas station on video.
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New bodycam footage shows Darrell Dawson allegedly with a unregistered pistol.
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He’s charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – There are multiple sides to every story and Detroit police want to give their side after a viral video of a rough arrest.
The backstory
Detroit police officers rolled up to a gas station on Detroit’s west side, responding to what looked like a fight. After the video of the arrest went viral, 27-year-old Darrell Dawson talked with FOX 2’s Ingrid Kelly on Thursday.
“I grabbed one of the ladies’ purses out of the car, and closed the door, and proceeded to go into the store,” Dawson said on Thursday.
The other side
Meanwhile, after seeing body cam footage on Friday, Assistant Chief Franklin Hayes said Dawson was stashing an unregistered pistol.
“The individual in red attempted to put what appeared to be a firearm and tuck it under the front seat of the vehicle,” Hayes said.
Dawson claimed his innocence again, saying he had no weapons. From there, Hayes says they had the right to search further but were met with resistance.
“Lack of cooperation, not being transparent, and attempting to evade the officers both in their investigation and physically,” he said.
Dig deeper
For about five minutes, Hayes says, Dawson actively resisted, and officers used closed fist strikes. As backup arrived, they finally subdued Dawson, who continued to say his dad was an officer.
Dawson’s adoptive father is an investigator with Detroit police, but Hayes said that does not make anyone above the law.
What’s next
He’s charged with carrying a concealed weapon; the gun was unregistered, and he’s not a CPL holder. He is also charged with resisting arrest and given a $25,000 bond with no 10%. He has priors too, for weapons offenses and drug trafficking.
“The application of the deployment of force is uncomfortable to look at; force is never pretty,” Hayes said.
The Source
FOX 2 talked with Detroit police and used information from previous reports.