A jury acquitted the Michigan state trooper who beat a Black man over a jaywalking allegation Monday, despite video evidence showing him punching and kneeing the nonresistant man and testimony from a state police expert who said the force violated department policy.
Bodycam video shows Michigan State Trooper Paul Arrowood and another trooper confronting Michael D. Wilson for standing less than a foot onto a residential street late one evening in 2022, prompting the then 28-year-old Black man to step off the street.
But the cops grabbed his wrists, and Arrowood tackled Wilson onto the street and started beating him, ordering him to roll over while straddling his full body weight on him.
“Help! Help! They whipping my a–!” Wilson yelled as Arrowood beat him.
Ven Johnson, the attorney representing Wilson in his civil case, compared the acquittal to the 1991 Rodney King case in Los Angeles, where a jury acquitted the officers in the criminal trial but awarded King $3.8 million in the civil trial.
“Walking while Black, that’s what (Wilson’s) crime was,” Johnson told Michigan Live.
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“He did nothing wrong but beg for his life, repeatedly, as we all heard. If that’s not a crime, I don’t know what is.”
Police never charged Wilson with a crime, but they did suspend Arrowood without pay within weeks of the incident. Prosecutors then charged him with felony misconduct and misdemeanor assault sex months later.
Arrowood and fellow state trooper Logan Barber confronted Wilson at around 10:45 p.m. on September 4, 2022, after he stepped onto a residential street.
“Just stop a sec, man. You can’t be walking in the roadway,” Arrowood told him.
Wilson took two steps back onto the grass, but the troopers quickly apprehended and tackled him, and Arrowood beat him for several minutes, punching him about 19 times, according to prosecutors.
“This is someone literally walking down the street, minding his own business,” Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Marissa J. Fillmore said during the opening argument in Arrowood’s criminal trial.
“Mr. Wilson does not throw a single punch, he does not make any threats, and he does not reach for a weapon.”
Wilson testified during Arrowood’s trial, telling the jury he did not understand why Arrowwood physically assaulted him.
“He (Arrowood) threw me down on the ground, started punching my face,” Wilson said, according to Michigan Live.
Wilson added, “He was telling me to put my hands behind my back, but I couldn’t. He was over top of me.”
Michigan State Police Sgt. Justin Mazur, described as a “use-of-force expert,” also testified, telling the jury that the beating was “outside acceptable practice.”
“This situation is completely outside what we teach with our policy,” Mazur said, according to Michigan Live.
But despite the testimony and video evidence, the jury acquitted Arrowood.
“Sadly, double standards exist, and criminal juries often enable this behavior. This should concern everyone,” Johnson, Wilson’s attorney, said of the verdict.
Prior to the Wilson incident, Arrowood already had a history of complaints from citizens accusing him of racial profiling, violent abuse, complaints, rudeness, crass language and rushes to judgment, according to records obtained by Michigan Live.
A woman named Sharon Pennell accused Arrowood of pulling her from her car, slamming her to the ground, and berating her during a December 2020 suspected drunken-driving arrest. Prosecutors later dismissed the charge after laboratory testing showed she was not intoxicated.
Arrowood received a three-day suspension for that incident, and Pennell filed a lawsuit that is currently on appeal after it was dismissed by the district court.
Also pending is Wilson’s lawsuit, which accuses Arrowood of using excessive force by slamming him to the ground and repeatedly punching him, and Barber of failing to intervene. It also accuses both troopers of committing assault and battery and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
“Arrowood verbally accosted Michael during the beating, calling him a ‘little b-tch’ and ‘f–king little b–ch,” the claim states. “Defendant Barber asked Arrowood, ‘Want me to Tase him?’ and pointed his Taser at Michael.”
“As a result of the assault and battery by Arrowood, Michael suffered severe injuries to his head, face, chest, arms, and legs, causing Michael to suffer physical and emotional pain and suffering.”
Arrowood remains employed even though he has been on unpaid suspension for four years.
Michigan State Police will now conduct an internal investigation to determine whether his “actions were consistent with department policy and procedure,” according to a statement released to local media.
“Trooper Arrowood will remain on administrative leave,” the statement said.
That means Arrowood could be eligible for back pay covering his unpaid suspension.
“It’s quite alarming when we allow individuals who have pledged to uphold the law to then violate it without consequences,” said Johnson.
Jury Acquits Michigan Cop Who Tackled and Punched Black Man 19 Times for Not Walking on Sidewalk