Southfield police facing $20M lawsuit after man says arrest left him paralyzed

Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren called a press conference to address claims of police brutality as the family of a man claims their actions led to him being paralyzed from the neck down.

Barren called a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday to discuss the allegations that officers used excessive force against 27-year-old Clint Willis when he was arrested in early April.

"I can't really use my hands," Willis said.

Police were called to a home to a report of a man assaulting an elderly woman. Police said that woman was Willis' mother. Barren said that, once officers tracked him down, he assaulted one female officer and fought others while being taken into custody.

In bodycam video released by police, it shows Willis fighting against officers as they tried to arrest him. Once he was handcuffed, they walked him to a police car and loaded him in without further incident while the female officer was treated for a cut near her eye.

Barren then showed video of Willis walking into the Southfield Jail without handcuffs.

Southfield Police Officers do not operate the jail – it's run by Allied Universal Security Services.

The video shows the man getting into an argument with the guards as they tried to get him into a cell. Video from inside the cell shows three guards wrestling him onto the bed of the cell.

As they tried to leave, he got up and blocked the door from closing. Guards again wrestled him to the cell bed. They were able to get out as he got up again, and he ran from the back of the cell and then head first into the plexiglass wall.

A supervisor was called, and he was taken to the hospital.

Barren said the video shows that the officers and guards at the jail did nothing wrong, and he called the press conference to be transparent about what happened.