Michigan State Police Forced Black Motorist To Defecate In Public in Apparent False DUI Arrest
BENTON HARBOR, MI – A Black motorist has filed a lawsuit against the Michigan State Police, alleging he was subjected to a humiliating traffic stop that was captured on police body cameras. Dakarai Larriett claims he was falsely accused of intoxication during the incident, which took place earlier this year in Benton Harbor.
In his lawsuit, filed on October 2, Larriett alleges he was racially profiled when troopers stopped him in his Cadillac SUV. He reports that the officers mocked his name and directed homophobic remarks at him during the encounter. In the footage (see below), Trooper George Kanyuh is heard asserting that Larriett was under the influence. “I don’t know what he’s on,” Kanyuh tells his partner, Trooper Matthew Okaiye. “I’m going to assume it’s weed and alcohol.”
Larriett says the camera footage proves that troopers were trying to plant drugs on him. Kanyuh can be seen rifling through the trunk of his squad car for two minutes, and the video goes dark. At one point, Okaiye appears to say, “Drugs?”
Kanyuh responds, “I don’t think I have any … I had a stash in here somewhere. I don’t know where it’s at.”
Despite a lack of evidence supporting their claims, the troopers handcuffed Larriett and transported him to a hospital for testing.
After testing negative for alcohol, Larriett was still taken to jail. He recounted a distressing experience where police conducted a scan of his stomach, accusing him of attempting to “smuggle drugs into the jail by way of ingestion.”
In a statement to the Metro Times, Larriett described the situation as escalating into an “extremely humiliating moment” when he was forced to defecate in public. At the same time, Trooper Kanyuh allegedly yelled at him not to flush.
Larriett was initially charged with operating under the influence of a controlled substance; however, his attorney, Shawndrica N. Simmons, noted that prosecutors swiftly dismissed the case due to a “lack of evidence and the unlawful nature of the stop and arrest.” Simmons also stated that the actions of the Michigan State Police officers reflect a pattern of racially discriminatory policing, Simmons wrote in the demand for a jury trial.
After the incident, Larriett discovered a now-deleted X account, @GKanyuh, which he believes belonged to Trooper Kanyuh. The account allegedly contained tweets that were racist, homophobic, and misogynistic in nature.
The case has sparked outrage and raises serious concerns about the conduct of law enforcement officers in their treatment of Black motorists.