Carjacking suspect sues police over beating arrest

Andrew Jackson Jr., who is charged with carjacking at gunpoint, has filed a federal lawsuit over his January 2015 arrest by Highland Park and Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., police.(Photo: Michigan Department of Corrections)DETROIT — A man charged with carjacking a grandmother and her two grandsons at gunpoint has filed a federal lawsuit over his arrest, which was caught on an amateur video that shows police punching and kicking him as they tried to handcuff him.The civil rights violation lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, seeks more than a $1 million on behalf of Andrew Jackson Jr. It names as defendants the city of Highland Park, police officer Ronald DuPuis, the city of Grosse Pointe Park and two of its officers, identified only as John Doe 1 and 2.The lawsuit seeks compensation for physical injuries, as well as emotional distress and mental anguish, Jackson claims he suffered as a result of the arrest. The lawsuit claims Jackson did not resist arrest but was "severely kicked and beaten" by the officers.Jackson, 51, whose arrest was caught on an amateur video that went viral, is accused of carjacking and robbing a 55-year-old grandmother and her grandsons at gunpoint in the middle of the day on Detroit's west side on Jan. 12 as she cleaned snow off her car. Prosecutors said Jackson also pointed the gun at the woman's grandsons, "threatening to shoot them if they did not exit the car."Jackson, who is back in state prison on a parole violation for an earlier conviction, faces a multitude of charges including carjacking, armed robbery, assault with intent to rob while armed, felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful driving away of an automobile, resisting and obstructing, and felony firearm, the prosecutor's office said.His arrest is under investigation by the Michigan State Police.A video posted by a citizen shows police officers kicking, punching and handcuffing Jackson. Officers with ACTION, a stolen vehicle task force, made the arrest.ACTION is made up of officers from Detroit, Grosse Pointe Park, Highland Park and Harper Woods, but the officers involved in Jackson's arrest were from Highland Park and Grosse Pointe Park, a Detroit police spokesman previously said.After the video went public, protesters gathered outside Grosse Pointe Park police headquarters saying the officers abused their power when they hit and kicked him. A member of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality called for criminal and civil penalties against the officers.The video, posted on Facebook, shows one officer punching the Jackson while someone yells, "Give me your (expletive) arm! Give me your arm!"Contributing: Elisha Anderson, Gina Damron and Robert Allen, Detroit Free PressWill ice, snow shut down the South...again?Feb 25, 2015