ACLU lawsuit accuses Warren police of excessive force with mentally ill man

ACL sues for excessive force on man in mental crisis by Warren police

The ACLU claims Gibson ended up hospitalized for heart and kidney injuries.

WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Warren police are facing a new lawsuit about how officers responded to a mental health crisis.

The backstory:

Bodycam video shows what the ACLU is calling excessive force by the Warren Police Department against Christopher Gibson.

"Please I’m good, I’m good, I’m good," he says in the video.

The man is 24-year-old Christopher Gibson — who alongside the ACLU is suing Warren police for the way he was treated while experiencing his mental episode on December 13, 2022.

Gibson is a diagnosed schizophrenic.

Police officer: "Just relax man, we’re all good. We're just trying to figure out what's going on. You ok?"

Gibson: "I'm okay."

Police officer: "The gas station called because they were worried about you so we’re trying to get it figured out okay?"

Gibson: "Yep, yep, yep, yep."

Gibson was picked up by Warren police after a gas station saw him wandering nearby — and were worried about him.

Officers discovered he had a warrant for identity theft and arrested him.

Christopher Gibson

His mother Alwanda says he had run off during a mental crisis — here’s one of her many calls to the Warren Police Department.

Gibson's mother: "Hello sir?"

Police: "Yes ma'am?"

Gibson's mother: "He’s having a mental breakdown. I called 911 earlier."

Police: "Yeah alright. He’s going to be in the Warren jail, he’ll be safe."

Gibson's mother: "He needs to go to a psychiatric ward, sir."

Inside the Warren jail at one point, Gibson wouldn't place his hands through the slat to be cuffed for transfer to Macomb County Jail.

"You’re going to be handcuffed you’re being moved to a different facility," said an officer on video. "You’re not listening. Listen, the next step is, I will Taser you."

Mark Fancher is an attorney with the ACLU.

"They went in, and attempted to get him under control," he said. "And in the process, they triggered other reactions from him which led to him biting one of the officers during a tussle.

"At this point, as far as they were concerned, he was someone who had committed an assault against an officer."

The ACLU claims Gibson ended up hospitalized for heart and kidney injuries.

In a statement, Warren police Lt. John Gajewski said the department is "looking to confirm formal service of this lawsuit on the city.

"Generally we do not comment on lawsuits that we have not been served. We reserve the right to issue a comment upon formal service."