Ferndale Cop Charged With Assault Over Arrest Of Teen Caught On Video [VIDEO]

FERNDALE (WWJ) - A now-former Ferndale police officer has been charged with assault over a violent arrest caught on squad car video.

Ferndale Police Chief Timothy Collins says he was troubled by what he saw on the tape: Officer Jason White last April striking an apparently compliant 17-year-old Khalil Williams, a larceny suspect, picking him up off the ground and striking him again several times.

"Immediately upon hearing it from at the very lowest level, at the patrol level, it worked its way up to my office," Collins told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeill. "And immediately upon seeing we relieved the officer of duty and notified the sheriff's department because we had an independent agency come in and do the investigation."

The veteran White, accused of using excessive force during the April 18 incident, has resigned from the force.

"The officer watched the video, saw what he had done and had no real comment other than, you know, he could not dispute what he saw on the screen," Collins said.

Williams wasn't injured.

He served time after he was convicted of stealing from parked cars.