'He just floored it': Detroit police SUV plows through group of protesters, flings people who climbe

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post



Detroit police drove an SUV through a group of protesters on Sunday night. (Screen grab via Twitter)

By
Timothy Bella
June 29, 2020 at 3:14 a.m. CDT

A largely peaceful protest in Detroit against systemic racism and police brutality turned violent on Sunday night as a police SUV plowed through a group of protesters, striking multiple people and sending a couple demonstrators who had climbed on the hood flying from the vehicle.

Police accelerated the vehicle multiple times as dozens of protesters surrounded the SUV, according to videos of the incident posted to social media. After each acceleration, protesters could be heard shrieking in shock, pleading for the driver to stop putting their foot on the gas while people were in front of the vehicle and being thrown from the hood of the car.

“Detroit Police Department just ran straight through a bunch of our protesters,” Ethan Ketner, a protester who filmed the scene, wrote on Facebook. “Myself and 10-12 others were struck by this reckless driver who somehow has a badge.”

. . .

In a statement to the Detroit News, the Police Department said the driver was attempting to leave the scene after a rear back window had been “busted out.”



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/29/detroit-police-suv-protesters/

[SunSeeker]

1. K & R for exposure.

[DownriverDem]

12. I wish it hadn't happened

but I for one would not be on a police car while it is trying to leave. I sure would have jumped off before I got hurt. You can protest without getting hurt.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Heather Heyer

[rpannier]

3. Running over people because of a busted rear window.. okay....

[Maxheader]

4. Not good..

So that's what it's come to? Inept management, weeding out the the nut cases at

the expense of lives?

[beachbumbob]

5. climb on hood of a car? Did like we miss that part of the story? Not a "peaceful move" in my book

[MichMan]

6. What would your response be if a mob of protesters jumped on top of your vehicle

and started smashing out windows?

Instead of shooting anyone, they tried to leave the scene. What should they have done instead?

[PatSeg]

11. Yes

That headline was a bit misleading. I'm not sure how most people would respond if people were climbing on their car and smashing the windows. Its possible there was a better way to handle the situation, but I think most people would panic.

[marie999]

7. If he had wanted to, the cop could have done a lot more harm.

If he wants to go, you let him, you don't jump on his hood.

[diverdownjt]

9. Did you ever think they were on the hood...

Because they just got hit by the car?

[marie999]

10. The video clearly shows protesters jumping up onto the hood while the car is moving.

He did start to move with some in front of him but he also stopped and the protesters jumped onto his hood.

[forgotmylogin]

17. I think it's possible to accelerate slowly in this case.

I'd be more open for excuses like that if "the vehicle was slowly and gradually inched forward through the crowd" than "People went flying when the vehicle hit them."

[Evolve Dammit]

8. assault with a deadly weapon. Hope they are OK

[Calista241]

16. Not in this case. Jumping in front of moving cars in an effort to stop or detain

the occupants, and trying to break into their vehicle is not peaceful. In this case, this is 100% on the protesters.

[Javaman]

13. don't you worry, the cop will be found innocent because the suv "malfunctioned"...

wait for it.

[Chemisse]

14. I don't think I can blame the cop for this action.

I'd want to get out of there too if I was surrounded like that.

It was odd the way a couple of guys kept jumping back on the hood.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. This should be interesting, but I don't think the cop "floored" it.

Yeah, he goosed the accelerator a bit, alternating with brakes, to shake off people boarding the vehicle. If he "floored it", there would have been much more injury.

Did he act reasonably? Responsibly? Legally? Much debate follows.

[roamer65]

18. A panic over a busted window?

Jeebus. Even Nixon had the guts to endure his car being smacked around in Venezuela in 1959. For about 12 minutes.