Men win settlement after fight with Detroit police officers

DETROIT (WJBK) - They went from being arrested and facing felonies to being cleared of all charges.

Now they are figuring out what to do with all their money after winning a big settlement from the city of Detroit over a restaurant brawl caught on video.

It wasn't a prize fight, just a costly one, upwards of six figures, paid to Tywonn Mitchell and Navian Moore. The two men were out for a bite to eat when police followed them into the Grandy Coney Island.

"(An officer) poked one of the young men in the chest, I believe it was Mr. Moore who slapped the officer's hand away and a scuffle ensued," said Herbert Sanders, and attorney for the men.

The settlement was just paid by the city of Detroit - or more accurately the tax payers.

"It is an unfortunate circumstance that taxpayers continue to pay for stupid mistakes," Sanders said.

If the story and video ring a bell there is good reason because FOX 2 covered the incident when it happened.

It was roughly three years ago that FOX 2 was standing in this same place reporting on charges against two teens for fighting with two Detroit police officers.

A lot has happened in those three years. Initially police said the officers did not use excessive force and felony charges were levied against both Moore and Mitchell.

"Assaulting a police officer. Resisting arrest, both were college students," Sanders said.

But just two weeks after FOX 2 first aired the story in 2013, the charges were dropped.

"Once the prosecutor read the transcript and saw the video tape the cases were dismissed and that's when we pursued a civil cause of action," Sanders said.

"They shouldn't have gotten physical with us," Mitchell said. "We didn't expect that, we weren't going to get physical with them. We're not crazy; we're not going to just hit cops. We're not going to hit anyone so why would you hit us. We've never been in trouble, and I don't want them to think we are bad people because we hit the cops back. I want them to look at us as the good people."

And while the prize might not have been worth the fight in their eyes. Their attorney says it helps in their goal of moving forward.