Grand Rapids Cops Accused Of Hurting Elderly Man

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - A jury will determine if Grand Rapids police used excessive force during a confrontation with a man in his 80s who suffered a black eye and other injuries.

Gerald Haveman was 85 when he got in the middle of an investigation involving his son and allegations of domestic violence in 2008. Grand Rapids attorneys deny that he was punched, but they acknowledge that an officer placed a forearm to his jaw, pushing him against a door frame.

"I'm not going to fight with two big cops,'' the now-88-year-old Haveman told The Grand Rapids Press.

He suffered a black eye, a bloody nose and rib injuries. The city said they were minor and due to Haveman's own resistance.

A civil trial is scheduled to start Wednesday in federal court in Grand Rapids. Haveman claims the incident even created stress for his wife and contributed to her death last year.

"That really tore her up,'' he said.

Grand Rapids won't back down.

Haveman's "attempts to use age and frailty for sympathy should not be rewarded. The facts are plain that Gerald Haveman intentionally chose to break the law when he physically interfered with the arrest of his son,'' city attorneys said in a court filing.

In a separate but related matter, Haveman was charged with obstructing police, a misdemeanor, but cleared by a jury in just minutes. Assault-and-battery charges against his son were dropped.

Haveman's daughter, Cheryl Haveman, said her father's arrest was wrong.

"He is a very strong man, emotionally and physically. He talked about how humiliating it was to be dragged out of there in handcuffs, in front of all the neighbors,'' she said.

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