Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said his deputies acted appropriately after an incident last week had many people saying the deputies crossed the line.
It started around 7:40 p.m. on Wednesay near north Walnut and Jones St. in Mt. Clemens. Wickersham said a deputy was investigating a suspicious vehicle and saw an item being thrown from a car. When he went to investigate, the deputy smelled a strong odor of marijuana.
Wickersham said 22-year-old Jonathan Hadley begin walking away from the and when the deputy tried to put him in handcuffs, Hadley resisted.
That's when Wickersham said the driver of the vehicle, 19-year-old Yahaira Elisea-Moreno, ran up and began attacking the deputy, jumping on his back.
"They grabbed her by her hair and swing her to the ground," Hadley told 7 Action News last week about the incident.
"As you can see, again, obviously at some point, she got hit," Wickersham said about the deputy and Elisea-Moreno. "Don't jump on police officers and deputies' backs."
At that point, a third person, 29-year-old Jordan Herrod came out of a home and ran toward the deputy, pushing him into the bushes. That's when a second deputy arrived on scene and help assist the first deputy with the three people.
Several more people came out of the home and began yelling at the officers. Herrod, according to Wickersham, still resisted and struck the officer several more times.
Eventually, in a tussle on the ground, a deputy tased Hadley and got control of him, putting him in handcuffs. More deputies arrived and were able to get Hadley, Elisea-Moreno and Herrod in custody.
All four were taken to the Macomb County Jail. Herrod and Elisea-Moreno are charged with assaulting a police officer causing injury. Hadley and Diamond Smith, who also refused to listen to police orders, are charged with assaulting/resisting a police officer.
On Tuesday, Wickersham released body cam footage in an effort to be transparent.
"There was a lot of video we had to review before we put this out," he said. "That's why I truly believe in transparency and we have these cameras to let the public see everything our deputies do. This is what police work is."
