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ACRL: Hamtramck police falsely detained brothers, impounded their ice cream truck

Posted at 1:51 PM, Aug 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-08 18:29:53-04

The Arab-American Civil Rights League held a press conference on Monday afternoon announcing the filing of a civil rights complaint against the Hamtramck Police Department.

According to the ACRL, the complaint comes after they say two Arab men were falsely arrested and detained by police in March.

Omar and Mohamed Wasel owned an ice cream truck, and in March 2016, they were issued tickets by Hamtramck police for being improperly parked, the ACRL said. The truck was then impounded and towed and had the license plate removed.

The brothers went to the police station the same day with a license plate and proof of insurance, but were told to bring more documentation, according to the ACRL. When they went back the next day, they were accused of having fake insurance records and police arrested them and accused them of insurance fraud, the complaint states.

The Wasel brothers were detained for nearly two days, without permission to use the telephone or even offered anything to drink," according to the ACRL release. "During this incident the officers were unnecessarily aggressive and continued to accuse them of having fake documents, during which the officers laughed at and humiliated Omar and Mohamed."