Felony Charges Dropped Against Shelby 5

Detroit Will Breathe in the streets in Shelby Township on Oct. 25, 2020
Detroit Will Breathe in the streets in Shelby Township on Oct. 25, 2020

By Fighting Words Staff

Detroit Will Breathe co-founder Tristan Taylor pleaded no contest before the Macomb County Court to misdemeanor resisting and obstructing, which will be erased from his record after a 6 month non-reporting probationary period.

The other 3 charges against him have been completely dropped. Other defendants have received the same plea offer.

These false charges were the result of a police riot on October 25, 2020 which attacked an anti-racism demonstration in Shelby Township, located in Macomb County, north of Detroit. There were no crimes committed on that day by the demonstrators, some of whom were from this same community.

Police grabbed Tristan from the crowd, slamming him down in the street before the arrest. Other defendants were subjected to similar acts of police brutality meted out by several law-enforcement agencies summoned to the scene by local authorities.

Shelby Township police leaders and some elected officials made openly racist comments during the upsurge in Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. The demonstration on October 25 was to protest these officials and to call for their resignations.

This is a win for the movement, as this means Tristan is not pleading guilty to any charge.

This deal was also not on the table before the most recent push to expose Macomb County’s injustice system and pressure them to drop the charges!

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