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WARREN — Two Warren police officers were charged with assault last summer for their alleged actions during a traffic stop. The officers were later fired by the Warren Police Department for misconduct, and a settlement was reportedly paid to the victim at the agreement of city attorneys with the authorization of the city’s former administration.
The details were confirmed in separate press releases from Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido and Warren Mayor Lori Stone, but none of it was apparently disclosed at the time.
It all came to light after a March 7 television news report by WXYZ Channel 7 journalist Ross Jones.
“The case was resolved after the two Warren officers involved faced criminal charges and were fired from the Warren Police Department. This happened under the previous administration,” Stone said in a statement on March 8.
“The City’s lawyers also agreed to a settlement with the victim that was authorized by the previous administration. To be honest, I only found out about the incident recently because of the media’s interest,” the mayor stated.
According to a press release from the office of Macomb County Prosecuting Attorney Peter J. Lucido dated Aug. 18, 2023, but not released on the office’s website until Feb. 28, Warren police officers Dammeon Player, 50, and Carlos Taylor, 28, conducted a traffic stop of a semi-truck on July 20, 2023, in the city of Center Line. Body cam footage obtained by Channel 7 reportedly shows Taylor pulling the victim out of the truck and Player deploying his Taser.
The officers were arraigned in 37th District Court before Judge Steve Bieda on Aug. 18. Player was charged with felonious assault, which is a four-year felony. Taylor was charged with assault and battery, which is a 93-day-misdemeanor. Both officers were also charged with willful failure to uphold the law as public officials, a one-year misdemeanor. A personal bond was set at $5,000 for both men.
“I feel confident that my client did not violate his duties under the law,” said Taylor’s attorney, James Fifelski. “At the time of the incident, Mr. Taylor was operating under the direction of and acted in accordance with proper police protocol under the circumstances. Mr. Taylor has an impeccable police record for service in the community. He maintains his innocence and we are currently working to resolve this case and clear officer Taylor’s good name through the legal system.”
Player’s attorney, Avis Hany Choulagh, could not be reached for comment.
The incident, investigation and settlement — reportedly in the amount of $400,000, paid within 33 days of the incident — came in the wake of a June 2023 investigation into the alleged actions of now-former Warren police officer Matthew Rodriguez, which received national attention. Rodriguez was seen on video in the Warren Police Department’s jail punching an inmate, throwing him to the cement floor, and beating his head against the ground. He was fired and was later indicted in federal court.
Rodriguez’s attorney, Elias Muawad, said, “He is affording himself the right to a trial.”
In a March 8 release about the July misconduct case, Stone described the incident involving Player and Taylor as “incredibly rare” and said she holds the Warren Police Department to the highest standard.
“As shocking as this incident was, I want the citizens of Warren to remember that this incident is an incredibly rare and isolated example of improper conduct by the Warren Police Department,” Stone said in the release. “This administration will continue to take steps to ensure that the Warren Police Department, under its new leadership, stays at the forefront of recruiting and training so its employees uphold the highest expectations and integrity as they are doing their best work serving our great City.”
In the release, Stone said a supervisor in the Warren Police Department identified the July incident that prompted the dismissal of the two officers as a case of police misconduct and that the matter was turned over to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.
Lucido issued a written statement as to why the press release was just made public when the incident happened in July.
According to Lucido, he has sent out 300 releases during his tenure. The process is to post the releases on the office’s website and to distribute them by email, which are two separate steps. There have been eight press releases where police were charged with crimes, and this press release inadvertently did not follow the same process, and was only posted on the website and not emailed.
“This one should have been put on the Web page at the time and emailed but was not. Our best determination is that our Communications Director published it to the Web in February. After our initial discussion, our Communications Director found that this particular press release was published on the same page as it is now, but it was in the July 2023 section, so she moved it to the August 2023 section on the same page,” Lucido said in a written statement.
Both Player and Taylor were in 37th District Court in Center Line for a probable cause conference on March 13. Player awaits a preliminary exam at 8:45 a.m. on May 8, while Taylor has a final pretrial hearing scheduled for 8:45 a.m. on June 5.
