The ACLU of Michigan has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Detroit man who was brutally beaten, shocked, pepper-sprayed and threatened with a K-9 dog by Warren police officers while undergoing a mental health emergency in 2022. Christopher Gibson was hospitalized for about a week with damage to his heart and kidneys after the violent attack. The suit says Gibson and his family repeatedly informed the officers that he was experiencing a mental health emergency and required immediate psychiatric treatment, but the Warren police officers assaulted him instead. Gibson was found wandering the streets lost, confused and without a coat during a winter night in December 2022 when police took him into custody because of outstanding warrants. This is Christopher Gibson’s mother Alwanda Gibson, speaking in a video released by the ACLU of Michigan.

Alwanda Gibson: “Christopher is afraid to sit on the porch. He’s afraid to see the police officers when they ride down the street. He thinks they’re going to jump out and finish the job of what the Warren Police Department did to him. Had they just listened and handled the situation better, we wouldn’t be here now. They need mental health experts to respond to these type of situations. It’s going to keep happening over and over again, unless the Warren Police Department changes.”