Detroit Carjack Suspect Beaten By Police Ordered To Trial
DETROIT (AP) - A man kicked and punched by police officers who were investigating a carjacking was ordered to trial Tuesday after the victim identified him as the armed culprit.
Phyllis Knox's testimony helped a judge determine there's enough evidence to send Andrew Jackson to trial on a carjacking charge and many others.
Police assigned to a regional auto-theft unit arrested the ex-convict in a Detroit neighborhood on Jan 12. A video shows officers kicking and punching Jackson, but their use of force didn't come up during the court hearing.
Knox said she was clearing snow from her car when Jackson ordered her to give up the keys earlier that day. Her grandsons were in the car.
"I was begging him not to take my purse because I had medication in my purse," she said. "He said, 'You don't understand. You're getting robbed."'
She said he threatened to shoot her grandchildren if they didn't get out of her car. Knox said she got a "great look" at Jackson, although he denied any role.
"That wasn't me. I'm not a carjacker. I own three cars," he said in court.
Jackson has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the officers who struck him. Their actions are being investigated by the prosecutor's office. The arrest was recorded by a woman who watched while nearby in a house.
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