Central Jersey
Prosecutor : Force deemed necessary when police arrested Brookdale student
Brookdale Community College police officers who were seen online arresting and pepper-spraying a student on campus did not violate any criminal law or use of force guidelines.
The use of excessive force used against a Brookdale student who was arrested and the incident caught on video has been deemed necessary by officials.
Brookdale Community College police officers who were seen online arresting and pepper-spraying Jeffery Michel on campus did not violate any criminal law or use of force guidelines, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced in a statement.
The letter, which was released by the college, said there was no formal complaint made in the arrest of Jeffery Michel, 27, of Colts Neck, on the college campus.
Brookdale student arrest goes viral
An investigation by the prosecutor’s office was initiated after the video went viral online alleging police brutality against the Brookdale student. Nearly 1 million people have watched the video on Facebook and Youtube.
“It is clear from reviewing the video footage that the force that was used was necessary to overcome the physical resistance of Mr. Michel,” Jacquelynn Seely, director of the prosecutor’s office Professional Responsibility Unit, wrote in the letter.
The video emerged on Facebook showing Michel being taken into custody by Brookdale Community College police.
In the video nearly six officers are seen trying to arrest Michel, at one point using pepper spray to subdue him.
The video posting said that Michel was harassed and unlawfully arrested.
“Please share this video to open as many eyes as you can and to help protect the rights our forefathers fought so vigorously to attain.
Just because you have a badge and a gun it does not give you the right to harass innocent citizens in the ‘land of the FREE’,” the description said.
Michel believes he was wrongfully targeted and arrested.
During the incident, Michel is heard repeatedly asking the officers why he was being arrested, none of them had an answer.
Then finally an officer says obstruction. “Obstruction for what”, Michel exclaimed. The officer responds: “You don’t want to provide us with ID or your name and you have to.”
In an interview with the APP.com, Michel said :
“I thought they were trying to shut me up so they could do whatever they wanted me to do.” Michel said officers wanted to question him about an incident the week prior, when a friend had called police after Michel had confronted him about his missing laptop charger. Michel and the friend had since resolved the issue, but the friend had not yet contacted police before officers approached Michel. Michel said he did not want to answer officers questions. He said he did give the officers his name, but did not have identification because he did not drive there, but had been dropped off at school. Michel said he offered to walk with the officer to the school’s administration building in an effort to prove his identity as well as to call his friend to prove the issue over the laptop charger had been resolved. Michel claims the officer got upset and told Michel not to interfere with his investigation.
Michel was charged with harassment, obstruction, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
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