WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Prosecutors in Macomb County have authorized charges for a 23-year-old Amazon delivery driver who got in a confrontation with police after being found parked on the wrong side of the street more than a month ago in Warren.
FOX 2 was told the Macomb County Prosecutor reviewed the case a second time and decided to issue two misdemeanor ticket violations, after declining to pursue charges back in June. The charges issued are refusing to comply with a lawful order of a police officer, and the second for operating without a license on person.
The incident in question happened June 9 on Engleman Street in Warren after the driver delivered a package. Police were called and showed up following a complaint that the delivery truck was parked on the wrong side of the road.
Warren police played dashcam footage from the incident. In it, an officer's squad car is seen driving toward the delivery truck. When he gets out, the officer walks over to the man standing on the lawn adjacent to the parked vehicle.
The officer can be heard asking the driver why he was parked on the wrong side of the road.
The man responds saying he's working and refers to the situation as "BS." After the officer requests to see the man's driver's license, the two continue to argue over the classification of the Amazon truck operating as a postal vehicle.
Dwyer said the officer requested the delivery man's license 11 times before the confrontation appeared to escalate. As the officer reaches for the man's arms, the driver thrashes away, saying he'll get his license out. The officer continued to make the arrest.
In a video shot by an onlooker and in the dashcam video, witnesses can be heard telling the driver to cooperate while also trying to defend him to the officer.
Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer initially recommended felony charges of resisting arrest, failing to obey a lawful command, and failure to produce a driver's license, but prosecutors declined to charge. Dwyer said this wasn't the first time they'd heard complaints from residents regarding Amazon vehicles.
FOX 2 has also been told the officer involved was cleared by an independent investigation by the Macomb County Sheriff and is back on full duty.