A Minnesota woman who was protesting in metro Detroit claims she was strip searched during arrest for disorderly conduct this weekend, but dashcam tells a different story.
Jessica Nadeau was allegedly unruly when she was arrested, and inexplicably disrobed in the backseat of a patrol car. Members of the Detroit Will Breathe protest group later put out information saying she had been strip searched.
"We didn't know what she was attempting to do, but the video was pretty clear that she was lucid after that and she was communicating with the officers with no mental health issues," deputy police chief Mark Coyle said.
The video, which you can see HERE, shows this:
“There, now you don't need to search me, I’ll make it easier on you,” Nadeau said on camera. She banged on the window. when officers opened the door, saying, "Now it's easier to search me. Now you can search all of it.”
Ten people in the group were arrested for disorderly conduct at their latest protest, and Shelby Township Police informed them that those arrested Saturday could face felony charges.
Of the 10 arrested, four were released Sunday and six were kept in custody through Monday at the Macomb County Jail, said Detroit Will Breathe organizer, Nakia Wallace. The group protested the arrests noon Sunday in front of the Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.
"What we're demanding is the release of all of the Shelby six, we're demanding that the charges be dropped against everybody and we're demanding that the officers who participated in that illegal strip-search, that they be fired and they be charged," organizer Nikola Wallace said on Sunday.
They later announced the arrestees were released Monday night, but they did not add anything about the alleged strip search.
Shelby resident Philip Garton chided the group on Facebook for bad behavior that he said he witnessed during their protests. "Your protest became an endangerment to the public (and yourselves) when you marched in the street and blocked traffic. I was one of the cars blocked. Our police department gave ample polite warnings to get off the street, which some protesters refused to comply, before arrests were made, which were resisted.
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"Have you seen the released police car video where the woman freely chose to strip down and expose herself from the back seat of the patrol car? Claiming our township police officers ripped her cloths off and attempted to strip-search her is a lie too.
"I suggest your organization and SHIFT amend your statements to show accuracy, and apologize. When you make false claims, you lose your message."