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Detroit police tackle a protester early Sunday morning.

ADAM J. DEWEY

Black and blue Lawmakers call for investigation after Detroit police arrested 42 protesters, seriously injuring some

Two lawmakers are joining calls for an investigation after more than 40 p eaceful p rotesters, some of whom were seriously injured b y b aton-wielding cop s, were arrested early S unday morning for b locking W oodward A venue in downtown D etroit. t least five protesters were taken to the hosp ital.

“ T here should b e a full indep endent investigation of this incident and the use of ex cessive force involved against the D etroit W ill B reathe p rotestors,” state Rep . S tep hanie C hang said on T witter S unday.

Protesters were rallying against the influx of federal agents who are part of “Operation Legend,” a crime-fighting initiative that was recently launched b y the D ep artment of J ustice.

“ T he D etroit Police D ep artment has b een using the arrests of innocent B lack p eop le to deceive the p ub lic as they help justify T rump ’ s racist, scap egoating, ‘ tough on crime’ rhetoric that b oth ap p eals to his b ase and creates an

By Steve N eavling

atmosp here of authoritarian rule,” N akia W allace, an organiz er for the p rotest group D etroit W ill B reathe, said in a statement late S aturday night.

S hortly after midnight, p olice in riot gear used p ep p er sp ray, tear gas, b atons, and shields to p low through the group of p rotesters. Police struck p rotesters with b atons and p ushed them to the ground. O ne cop p ep p er-sp rayed a p rotester in the face while he was held down b y officers on the street. t least five protesters, some of whom were initially denied treatment, were taken to the hosp ital, witnesses tell Metro Tim es. O ne of them was A lex A nest, a clearly marked medic whose rib was b roken and lung collap sed when an oƥcer clubbed him in the back with a b aton and “ dragged me 15 feet across the sidewalk and cuffed me,” nest said on Faceb ook. H e said he called 9 11 after he was denied treatment and p olice held him with a group of detained p rotesters. He eventually was let go and flagged down p rotesters for a ride to the hosp ital at 4 a. m.

“ S tanding up for B lack L ives can b e dangerous, b ut not standing up for B lack L ives is disgusting,” A nest said. “ T his nation was literally b uilt on the b acks of enslaved p eop le and that’ s a fact that white p eop le must never forget. T he legacy of slavery is with us always. ”

A nest was still in the hosp ital M onday morning.

H is friend M att H ollerb ach, who also was arrested, said other p rotesters had b lack eyes and cuts on their heads. O ne had a b roken wrist.

“ M y friend had a hole gouged into his face with a b aton and will need surgery to fix a compound wrist fracture,” Hollerb ach tells Metro Tim es.

K evin K wart said a cop p unched him in the face more than 10 times and injured his shoulder. B oth of his eyes were swollen and b lack and b lue.

Police also arrested a journalist and a legal ob server. D etroit p olice tell Metro Tim es they are investigating.

“ A ny allegations of misconduct we will investigate,” S gt. N icole K irkwood tells Metro Tim es, saying the dep artment is reviewing videos and a p hoto.

U . S . Rep . Rashida T laib , D -D etroit, called on the D etroit Police C ommission to investigate.

“ W hile there have b een a few commissioners who have sp oken up ab out p olice violence consistently, we need the entire elected B oard of Police C ommissioners to take action,” T laib tweeted S unday. “ W e cannot standb y while residents & p eaceful p rotestors continue to b e harmed. ”

D etroit p olice also were accused of using ex cessive force on p rotesters in late M arch and early A p ril. T hey also arrested rep orters. O n J uly 20, W ayne C ounty Prosecutor K ym W orthy charged a p olice corp oral with three counts of felonious assault for allegedly firing rubb er p ellets at three p hotojournalists, all of whom were injured, on M ay 3 1.

D etroit p olice are holding a p ress conference at 1: 3 0 p . m. to discuss how p olice handled the p rotest.