Months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. Those are the penalties a Black couple faces for Wisconsin police arresting them instead of the actual suspects. The innocent duo fought back, and the prosecutor charged them for defending themselves.
Last month, Kenosha, Wisconsin, police arrested Jermelle English Jr. and Shanya Boyd in an Applebee’s after mistaking them for suspects in a hit-and-run. Prosecutors subsequently charged a 17-year-old with felony hit-and-run, not Boyd or English. That doesn’t matter. The duo insisted on their innocence and fought back. For not going quietly to jail with their baby, prosecutors charged them with resisting arrest.
A video from an Applebee’s employee circulated on social media shows the violent arrest of English, which community leaders and activists denounced. In the video, several Kenosha officers grabbed and pushed English as he sits on the restaurant floor cradling his infant and insisting he did nothing wrong. English yells, “Get off of me” while the baby cries and an employee pleads with the officers not to harm the baby’s head as they shake the child’s father.
After the baby’s removal, cops wrestle English to the ground. One cop appears to punch him repeatedly. One employee argues with an officer about his right to film the incident. That officer retorts, “You’re obstructing my investigation,” before instructing the employee to back away.
The Kenosha County District Attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment from theGrio. As of this writing, English and Boyd still face charges.
Aug. 23 marks three years since the Jacob Blake police shooting in Kenosha, which was part of the racial reckoning that captured the nation in 2020. That tragic anniversary stands top of mind for community leaders decrying the legal troubles Boyd and English face.
“We’re disheartened, saddened and angry that we’re still having the same conversation in 2023 that we had in 2020,” Tanya McLean, the executive director of Leaders of Kenosha told theGrio. “We’re back in the news for a police brutality-related incident.”
McLean observed that the only reason English and Boyd face charges is because the police made a mistake identifying the correct suspect. “We’re not anti-police,” she said. “We’re anti-people who oppress based on the color of someone’s skin out of fear.”
Prosecutors charged English and Boyd with resisting an officer, disorderly conduct, according to court documents. Boyd faces an additional marijuana possession charge. Community activists and leaders in Kenosha condemned the arrest as unwarranted and brutal. The Kenosha Police Department is investigating the incident.
If convicted, the maximum penalty for resisting arrest in Wisconsin is nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine. For disorderly conduct, a person could spend 90 days in jail and pay $1,000. For marijuana possession, Boyd could spend six months in jail and pay $1,000.
The Kenosha Police Department did not respond to requests for comment from theGrio, but according to a criminal complaint reported by The Kenosha News, when the officers approached the couple in Applebee’s English tried to walk away from them, and the cops told him he was not free to go.
The complaint says that the officers asked the couple which car belonged to them, but they didn’t want to answer. When one of the officers tried to stop English from leaving again, they got into a struggle.
“Despite being assisted by the Pleasant Prairie Police, (the man) continued to try to pull away and had to be decentralized to the ground. While (the man) was on the ground, he was ordered to put his hands behind his back and (an officer) delivered several strong side hand and forearm strikes in order [to] ensure compliance,” the complaint says.
The police also say that Boyd fought with one of the officers, and after arresting her found marijuana in her possession.
Lawyers for Boyd and English did not respond to requests for comment. TheGrio contacted the attorneys of record on court documents and has not been able to determine if they have counsel beyond the listed public defenders.
According to the website for the Cohen Law Offices based in Wisconsin, resisting an arrest “involves the use of force to prevent the arrest, while obstruction [may] include any actions meant to impede the arrest or investigation.” You can also be charged with resisting an arrest by using non-physical resistance.
The Cohen firm, which is not involved in the case, lists possible defenses for such charges on its web pages. It states:
- You may legally resist arrest when the officer clearly lacked a duty to arrest you for any supected wrongdoing.
- You may resist excessive force from an arresting officer. Excessive force employed during an arrest makes the arrest unlawful if the officer has legitimate grounds to arrest you. If you can show that you fought back purely to defend yourself against such force, you may win a dismissal of your case.
McLean expects the body-camera footage to be released soon and hopes that the community’s reaction will influence the prosecutors in the case. “We need to continue to apply pressure,” McLean says. “This can happen to anyone.”
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