GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A video circulating on social media of a Grand Rapids police officer appearing to punch a man was lawful use of force, according to the police chief.
The video seems to show GRPD officers using physical force against and then arresting a man during the arrest of another person. At a news conference Monday afternoon, Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom said the clip that went viral doesn’t show the whole situation.
Winstrom said officers were on Kalamazoo Avenue near Boston Street in Grand Rapids around 9:15 a.m. Friday after someone flagged them down saying they saw an armed man go into the Walgreens. Officers began investigating.
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“A very scary situation where an individual seen going in verified, he comes out, he has an AR-15 around his neck, he has a 9 mm handgun on his hip. From an outsider’s point of view, you could look at it as a potential active-shooter situation, mass casualty incident, we recognize that we have to do the full investigation,” Winstrom explained…