DETROIT (WXYZ) — Former Melvindale lieutenant Matthew Furman testified in his own defense Wednesday as he fends off assault charges stemming from two 2024 traffic stops.
Watch Ross Jones' video report:
Furman is facing charges of felonious assault, assault and battery and misconduct in office stemming from two separate police stops where he used his Taser.
Furman was the final witness before the case was turned over to the jury on Wednesday afternoon at 3:20 p.m.
Watch ex-Melvindale Lt. Matthew Furman testify in his own defense below:
“People tend to be a lot more cooperative when it comes to having a taser pointed at them," Furman testified, "because know now it’s going to be a very unpleasant experience."
One of the stops Furman is charged over involved Drakkar Williams, who Furman repeatedly drive stunned with his Taser because he said he was uncooperative.
“I would say 99.9% of traffic stops go smoothly without incident,” Furman testified. “But I’ve been involved in chases, I’ve had my patrol car rammed, I’ve been punched, kicked, bitten, spit on, stomped, beaten. I was dragged down the road a couple hundred feet by a car.”
Dennis Whittie, Furman's attorney, would show video from the dragging incident, which occurred 9 years before his client tased Williams which showed Furman being dragged by a fleeing driver.
That incident, Furman says, highlights how dangerous traffic stops can become.
“I’ve had nightmares about that incident,” Furman said. “I think about it all the time and it’s on my mind with pretty much every traffic stop.”
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Furman said his use of the Taser was proper and within policy because Williams did not immediately comply with his commands to leave the vehicle, or put his hands behind his back.
As for body cam video showing Furman pulling Williams’ hair into the back of a firetruck while he was handcuffed, he told the jury: “People in handcuffs can still do bad things.”
Furman also said his decision to tase Alica Cook—a mother parked in a school parking lot with her daughters while they waited for cheerleading practice—followed the force continuum.
In closing arguments, Furman’s attorney said his client was never found to have violated Melvindale’s policies.
“You may not like him at all, and I don’t expect you to,” Whittie said. “I don’t expect any of you to. But you’ve taken an oath to render a just verdict under the law. And what the law says here is: like it or not, he followed the policy.”
Under cross examination, assistant prosecuting attorney Matthew Makepeace asked Furman why he was so quick to use his Taser while another officer held Williams by the shoulders.
“Even though Lt. Rahman has him, on his right arm, on top of the car, telling him to calm down, you’re yelling at him to put his hands behind his back. Is that fair?” Makepeace asked.
“Correct,” Furman replied.
“And as you’re saying that the second time, you don’t even finish it. You just tase him as you’re saying it,” Makepeace said.
Furman replied: “Correct.”
“You did not give him any chance to comply with that second command,” Makepeace said.
“Shouldn’t have been need for a second command, he should have complied after the first,” Furman said. “And with a drive stun, you typically want to use that, if possible, as a surprise so people aren’t able to prepare to attack or defend themselves from that.”
Asked Makepeace: “Where in the Taser policy that Melvindale does it say you should drive stun by surprise?”
After pausing, Furman said: “I don’t know that that’s in there,” but said he learned the technique through his years as an officer.
Later, Makepeace asked Furman why he left out an important detail in his use of force report about the Williams stop.
“You never mentioned anything about putting his head into a firetruck in that report, correct?” he asked.
“I don’t recall,” Furman said.
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During closing arguments, the prosecutor said Furman was a symptom of a department that had long been a mess: no oversight and no accountability that allowed his bad behavior to continue unchecked.
“He did all of those things of his own free will, knowing because of the situation at Melvindale that he could get away with it. Because there was no oversight,” Makepeace said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m asking you right now to be that oversight."
Deliberations are set to resume Thursday morning at 9 a.m.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.