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The ACLU of MI seeks records related to racial discrimination

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking records related to racial discrimination within the city of Taylor’s police department.

The ACLU asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Taylor Police Department in 2021, following several allegations of police brutality against Black people. ACLU Staff Attorney Mark Fancher says in one instance, officers pulled a driver from his vehicle during a traffic stop.

“Then he was placed in a chokehold and choked unconscious. He was then taken to a jail cell where he was required to strip down to his underwear and lie face down on a cold floor while the air conditioning was turned down extremely low. And left there for a number of hours.” said Fancher.

The ACLU was recently denied a records request into the Taylor Police Department’s handling of racial misconduct. The group is appealing the decision.

Eli Newman is assistant news director and editor. He works with the WKAR news and digital content teams to facilitate the creation of meaningful and thought-provoking multimedia news content for WKAR Public Media.