MSP probe of videotaped suspect's arrest nears end

Detroit — Michigan State Police are expected soon to wrap up their investigation into two police officers' actions during a videotaped arrest of a carjacking suspect last week.

Meanwhile, prosecutors Wednesday were still reviewing a warrant request for Andrew Jackson Jr., 51, who also was wanted as a parole absconder.

Jackson faces a hearing Friday for 16 parole violations, Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz said Wednesday.

An undercover Grosse Pointe Park sergeant and Highland Park Sgt. Ronald Dupuis, 42, part of the ACTION multijurisdiction stolen car task force, were filmed by a northwest Detroit resident Jan. 12 as they arrested Jackson, hours after he allegedly pointed a gun at a 55-year-old Detroit woman and her two grandsons, 9 and 12, and stole the woman's silver 2011 Chevy HHR.

The video of the arrest, which was recorded by Emma Craig and posted on Facebook, shows Dupuis striking the suspect several times while apparently trying to handcuff him and administering a final blow after Jackson's hands were secured behind his back.

The Grosse Pointe Park sergeant is also seen on the video becoming angry after Jackson calls out for Jesus.

The video stirred controversy, and prompted a protest by members of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality and the Council of American-Islamic Relations, Michigan Chapter, who said the officers should be criminally charged. Others, including Grosse Pointe Park Police Chief David Hiller, insisted the officers were justified using force against a dangerous felon.

After Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan saw the video, he contacted Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who in turn asked Michigan State Police to investigate the officers' actions.

State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said the probe is moving along quickly.

"We're still looking into it, and we'll probably have it done within a week or so, and then we'll forward our findings on to the prosecutors."

Wayne County prosecutors will then decide whether to charge the officers with a crime, Shaw said.

One of the officers involved in the incident, Dupuis, has a checkered history in several police departments. He was fired from the Hamtramck Police Department after a November 2005 incident in which he shot his partner, Prema Graham, in the leg with his department-issued Taser, after arguing over a pop.

Dupuis also was reprimanded for assaulting a mentally disabled man at a gas station while working for Southgate Police in 1998. In 2005, he settled a lawsuit for $20,000 after he and another Hamtramck police officer were accused of assaulting a man during an April 2002 traffic stop.

Highland Park attorney Todd Perkins said Wednesday city officials are awaiting the results of the state police probe before deciding whether to suspend Dupuis.

"Until we hear from the state police, he's still on the job," Perkins said.

Meanwhile, prosecutors are still considering whether to charge Jackson with carjacking, after receiving a warrant request from the ACTION task force Jan. 14.

"The warrant request is still under review," spokeswoman Maria Miller said.

Jackson is being held in the Detroit Reentry Center on Ryan on parole violation charges. State records show Jackson was convicted in 2004 of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, assault with intent to rob while armed and fleeing a police officer, all of which happened in Oakland County. He was paroled in September 2013.

An arrest warrant was approved in April after Jackson missed a meeting with his parole officer and officials learned he was not living at the address Corrections had for him, Gautz said. Jackson could get up to 60 months' additional time.

"He's been charged with 16 parole violations, and he has a preliminary hearing on Friday," Gautz said. "Several of the violations deal with the carjacking, so there's a count for each victim. Other charges are possession of a firearm, and pointing a gun at the victim, and not obeying orders from law enforcement."

Gautz said the state is levying the carjacking charge before Wayne County prosecutors have decided whether to approve the warrant, and that the issue will be dealt with later if prosecutors decide not to charge Jackson.

If prosecutors charge Jackson with carjacking and other crimes, he won't be sent back to prison until the latest cases are adjudicated, Gautz said.

Normally, prosecutors would have to issue charges within 48 hours of a suspect's arrest, but because Jackson is being held on the probation violation charges, that rule doesn't apply.

According to the Department of Corrections website, Jackson has 17 aliases, including "Plug," Andre Dutch, Andre Dortch and Clarance Coulter. He also has a tattoo of a machine gun on his left bicep.

The woman Jackson allegedly carjacked told The Detroit News he waved a gun in her face, and also pointed it at her grandchildren, who were on their way to school.

The alleged victim, a medical assistant, said she saw the video of the arrest, and felt the officers were justified.

"People have to understand: Those officers knew this man was armed, and had just pointed his gun at me and my grandchildren," she told The News. "Then, they're chasing him (on foot) for several blocks. So when they finally get him down, and he starts reaching for his gun, what are they supposed to do? I don't feel sorry for that felon."

ghunter@detroitnews.com

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