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Police officers dispute account of Detroit man's alleged rough arrest

Posted at 10:48 PM, Dec 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-07 11:00:49-05

A metro Detroit man said he was taking action against two cities and several cops after he says he was beaten by police officers.

However, police say Dominique Slayton, 25, is not telling the truth.

Previously, Slayton said he was driving in River Rouge with a friend when he was saw a vehicle approaching him.

Slayton says it was dark and the car did not have any markings and there were no lights or sirens.

He says he didn’t know the person behind the wheel was a police officer, until he was pulled over.

“I pulled over, I got out, they told me to get on the ground and put my hands up and that’s what I did. After they put the handcuffs on me, they beat me up. They kicked me, punched me, broke my tooth and broke my nose,” he says.

However, police say that night, they received a dispatch of a vehicle driving reckless and at an excessive speed. A River Rouge police officer reportedly gave chase in a fully marked police car with lights and sirens.

Detective Dasumo Mitchell with River Rouge Police said Slayton was speeding up to about 80 miles an hour for about four and a half miles through three cities.

"You have the city of River Rouge, the city of Ecorse and the city of Wyandotte," he said.

Wyandotte Police Chief Brian Zalewski said, abiding by policy, his crew joined the pursuit. 

"He knew he was being chased by the police," Zalewski said. "If he felt he needed to get to a safe place, he was at one in a police department parking lot, when he passed all of our cars."

Police say Slayton's car jumped in the Detroit River and he was pulled out of the water, where he "actively resisted."

The officers were eventually able to get him handcuffed. 

Officials say the documents and police report support the arrest and pursuit.