From our partners at WOOD TV:
A jury will decide if a Grand Rapids police officer used excessive force when he struck a 15-year-old who ran away from him.
The teen’s attorney says he suffered brain damage, but police say they feared he may have a gun, making the use of force necessary.
The situation started with an anonymous call to 911 on June 13, 2014 about teens possibly carrying guns on the city’s southeast side. What is not in dispute is that Donovann Austin Braswell, then 15, ran from police and that officers stopped him. What happened next is where the case gets messy.
A judge examining the case described the Franklin Street and Eastern Avenue area, where the chase happened, as “the worst of the worst in terms of violent crime.”
Read the full story at WOODTV.com