Needed: Mental Health Treatment Not Jail and Brutality

In August 2025, the ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Christopher Gibson, a Black man who was pepper sprayed, tasered and brutalized in a jail cell by a group of more than a dozen Warren Police officers. The attacks resulted in Mr. Gibson’s hospitalization for injuries to his face, muscular system and kidneys. Mr. Gibson and a family member repeatedly informed officers that he was experiencing a mental health emergency and required immediate psychiatric treatment, but officers instead subjected him to abuse. Found wandering the streets lost, confused and coatless on a winter night, Mr. Gibson was taken into custody because of outstanding warrants related to identity theft. The lawsuit alleges that Warren police officers violated Mr. Gibson’s Fourteenth Amendment rights by denying him needed psychiatric care and by using excessive force while he was in their custody. It also alleges that officers violated federal laws designed to protect people with disabilities.  (Christopher Gibson v. City of Warren, et al., ACLU Attorneys Mark P. Fancher, Syeda Davidson, and Bonsitu Kitaba-Gaviglio.)