Monroe County woman files civil rights complaint against sheriff's office
MONROE COUNTY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Attorneys for Tracy Douglas are calling for the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office to drop the assault charges filed against her after they say she was the victim in a fight back in August.
Douglas' attorneys filed a civil rights complaint against the people involved in the altercation and the responding Monroe County sheriff's deputies. One of whom is accused of making a racial comment.
Newly released body camera videos chronicle the moments after Douglas and a couple got into an altercation in the parking lot of Liquor Cabinet in Lambertville.
It all started when Douglas, the passenger in a sedan parked next to a white pickup truck. Douglas allegedly dinged the car as she was getting out. That led to an alleged argument with a woman in the truck and eventually a fight.
"She started calling me a 'Karen' and 'What you're going to do about it Karen,'" said the woman involved in the scuffle with Douglas. "I was like 'What do you mean, what am I going to do about it? What do you want me to do about it?' She's like, 'I don't know, what are you going to do about it?' And then she opened her car door, put the baby in the car, close the door, came out and swung at me.
Douglas' attorneys accuse the woman of instigating the fight as well as using a racial slur. They also say Douglas was assaulted by the woman's boyfriend while being restrained by their friend.
On the body camera video, her boyfriend admitted to punching Douglas.
One of the deputies asked, "I just want to know who hit her?"
The boyfriend respond, "I did. Drilled her. Drilled her like a champ dude. She was beating up my girlfriend on the ground."
Body camera video also shows an exchange between Douglas and one of the Monroe County's sheriff's deputies that led Douglas' attorneys to file a civil rights complaint.
"Where you from?," the deputy asked.
Douglas said, "Temperance, Michigan."
The deputy responded with, "I'm from Detroit so I'm probably more black than you."
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office tells us it does not condone what the officer said and confirms an internal investigation has been launched into the deputies actions
Meanwhile, Douglas and the woman's boyfriend were charged with assault.
"Ms. Douglas was the victim of a heinous crime," said Darnell Barton, Douglas' attorney.
During a press conference, Douglas' attorneys called for her charges to be dropped and for the woman and the man who restrained Douglas to be held accountable.
"The only difference from Ms. Douglas being charged with assault and battery that night and the woman that should be been charged is that they believe their word over Ms. Douglas," said Barton.
"This will not tolerated," said Dionne Webster-Cox, Douglas' attorney. "This must be changed and for that we are here and we will continue to fight because we will see justice for Ms. Douglas."
Douglas' attorney said Douglas suffered a broken nose and concussion as a result of the altercation.