BATTLE CREEK, MI -- La’Ron Marshall believes the firing of the Calhoun County sheriff’s deputy who arrested him as he collected signatures is a “start toward change.”
Marshall, a Black resident of Springfield, said he hopes the decision will improve the relationship between police and residents, as well as spur better police policies and training.
“They’re moving in the right direction,” Marshall said Friday, Jan. 22, not long after Calhoun County sheriff’s administrators announced they were terminating the deputy who arrested him Jan. 2. “It’s a start toward change.”
The deputy’s name has been released.
Marshall was collecting signatures in his neighborhood to start a tenants’ association when he was approached by two deputies who said they had received a complaint about a person soliciting in the area. They asked to see his permit.
Related: Michigan deputy terminated after arresting Black man collecting signatures
Marshall told them he was collecting signatures. After a verbal exchange, one of the deputies arrested him after he failed to provide an ID.
Prosecutors later dropped the charges. Marshall and his attorney contend the arrest was a case of racial profiling.
In a statement issued Friday, Calhoun County Sheriff Steven Hinkley and Undersheriff Timothy Hurtt said the deputy made the wrong decision.
“We hold ourselves to high standards of professionalism to the communities we protect. When we are right, we are right. When we are wrong, we admit we are wrong. On January 2, we were wrong,” according to the statement.
Marshall’s attorney, Jennifer Lord, commended Hinkley for Friday’s decision.
“I do think the sheriff handled the situation very well,” she said. “There are so many instances where police departments didn’t do the right thing.”
She said the deputy’s dismissal “sends a really important message to the community” and can help to repair a frayed relationship between police and community members who distrust them.
Related: Racial profiling needs to stop, says Black man arrested while collecting signatures
Marshall’s arrest was somewhat ironic, Lord said.
“The reason he was out there collecting signatures that night was to increase safety and security in the community,” she said.
One of Marshall’s goals with the tenants’ association is to help stop vehicle break-ins, vandalism and speeding in the area.
The interaction between Marshall and the deputies on Jan. 2 was captured on cell phone video by the neighbor he was visiting at the time. Marshall was with his two children, ages 13 and 8.
The video was posted to YouTube and gained considerable attention.
Marshall said he believed the deputy’s termination was appropriate and questions whether the second deputy, who allowed the arrest to proceed, should face repercussions.
“He just let it happen,” he said.
Calhoun County officials say a review surrounding the second deputy is still ongoing.
Marshall hopes his experience can make a difference.
“The system is broken. The attitudes have to change,” he said.
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