A Black therapist is suing a Michigan police department after he was wrongfully detained for taking an early morning walk.
On Monday, Farmington Hills, Michigan resident Brian Chaney filed the $10 million civil rights lawsuit against Officer Richard Lindquist and the Keego Harbor Police Department. The suit stemmed from July 14th, when Chaney took a walk for exercise after dropping off his teenage sons at a nearby gym for weight training. He initially ignored the police car that pulled up behind him. However, when Officer Lindquist, a white man, exited the vehicle and shouted, “Get your hands out of your pocket,” the situation turned hostile.
Chaney says that the officer yelling behind him caused him immense anxiety because he did not know if he would be harmed.
“He’s screaming at me, running back to his car. I was afraid I was going to get shot. I just didn’t know,” Chaney explained.
Lindquist told Chaney he was going to frisk him because the certified hypnotherapist looked like he had a weapon and was going to “break into cars.” The officer then forced Chaney against the police car, called him a “dog,” and caused injuries to his groin and wrists due to the handcuffs. As backup officers arrived, Chaney was never given a valid reason for being detained. When no one gave him any answers, he then asked, “What are you going to do next? Put your knee into my neck?” referencing the 2020 death of George Floyd. It was at that moment that Lindquist removed the handcuffs and told Chaney he could go.
The shaken man says that he hates to have pulled such a card but was left with no choice as he went through a flurry of emotions.
The father was transported to the hospital following the incident for migraines and vomiting.
The Keego Harbor Police Department has not commented publicly on the racial profiling of Chaney.
