In his ruling last Thursday, 36 th District Court Judge Kenneth King dismissed all charges against Detroit police officer Juwan Brown, accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 70-year-old Daryl Vance.
“It’s a very difficult situation because I do have a 70-year-old man who’s now deceased,” Judge King said last week. “But the question is: did he cause his own peril?”
Vance died after being taken off life support following an altercation with officer Brown in September.
Body cam video from that day showed he was punched in the face by Brown, then fell backwards and struck his head on the pavement.
The video was played publicly for the first time last week in the judge’s courtroom.
Police were called to the Garden Bowl in Midtown just after 6 PM. Vance was drunk and belligerent, staff said, and refused to leave.
A witness described Vance as smelling of alcohol and unsteady on his feet. At the beginning of their interaction, officer Brown is calm, but as Vance continues to be uncooperative, the officer pulls out his taser.