Hunter wins seat belt case, is still 'disgusted' over arrest

Hunter wins seat belt case, is still 'disgusted' over arrest

By STEVE EISENBERG

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

YPSILANTI — The seat belt violation against him had just been dismissed. Ann Arbor City Councilman Larry Hunter stood outside the courtroom, hugging supporters and receiving congratulatory handshakes.

“I’m awfully tired and glad this is over,” he said Tuesday. “I kind of feel this is a first step in a long journey, and I’m disgusted this had to take place today.”

Hunter, 39, was alluding to his arrest last month in Ypsilanti after a traffic stop — an arrest that Hunter, who is black, said was racially motivated. The incident has resulted in an internal investigation within the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department, and the results are expected next week.

During the Jan. 17 traffic stop, two sheriff’s deputies cited Hunter for not wearing a seat belt and assaulting a deputy while being searched for possible weapons. The alleged assault occurred after two more deputies arrived. All four deputies were white.

One week later, the county prosecutor’s office said there was not enough evidence for an assault charge. In the deputies’ report, they wrote that Hunter slapped and pushed away a deputy’s hand three times.

Tuesday, 14B District Judge John B. Collins dismissed the seat belt citation, which is a civil infraction with a $40 fine, because it was unclear whether deputies observed the alleged violation in Ypsilanti Township or the city of Ypsilanti.

Location was an issue because deputies said Hunter had violated a township ordinance, applicable only in the township. The citation was under a township ordinance, rather than state law, because the township recovers a larger percentage of court fines that way.

Deputies said they had observed a defective tail light on a car, in which Hunter was a passenger, in the township and then stopped the car in the city, along West Michigan Avenue near First Avenue.

Collins partially based his decision on a Tuesday afternoon van ride to West Michigan Avenue, accompanied by attorneys, deputies and Hunter. During the trip, the judge recorded odometer readings to determine whether distances travelled by deputies along Michigan Avenue on Jan. 17 — as detailed in their testimony — placed Hunter iri the township or city when they spotted the alleged seat belt infraction.

One of Hunter’s two attorneys, Douglas R. Mullkoff of Ann Arbor, said Hunter challenged the seat belt citation rather than paying the fine because “he’s a public figure, and his reputation as a law-abiding citizen is obviously important to him.”

Hunter, who is a Democrat representing Ann Arbor’s 1st Ward, said he thought his arrest had no basis and was racially motivated. “It’s obvious they followed us for more than a mile, and I doubt any white citizen would get that kind of treatment,” he said.

But Lt. James Fink, who is heading up the sheriff department’s internal investigation, disagreed. "I didn’t hear anything in the courtroom that indicated race was involved in any way,” he said.

The car was driven by Raymond Chauncey, 46, of Ypsilanti Township, who received two equipment citations and was arrested for driving without a license. Chauncey is a human rights investigator for the city of Ann Arbor and also has filed a complaint.

After deputies noticed a broken tail light on Chaun-cey’s car they followed and stopped it. Both deputies testified that Hunter was not wearing a seat belt. Hunter said he was wearing his seat belt, but took it off when the deputies stopped the car.

After the traffic stop, deputies arrested both Chauncey and Hunter, who were released from the Washtenaw County Jail seven hours later.

HUNTER