Prosecutor: ‘No explicable reasons’ for officer to shoot journalists with rubber bullets

DETROIT — A Detroit police officer, who the Wayne County prosecutor said fired rubber bullets at three journalists during a police brutality protest in downtown Detroit in May, was charged Monday with multiple counts of felony assault.

Daniel Debono, a 32-year-old corporal, had been suspended with pay while police investigated the accusation, Detroit Police Chief James Craig confirmed Monday during a news conference about an unrelated fatal shooting at a Coney Island.

“The evidence shows that these three journalists were leaving the protest area and that there was almost no one else on the street where they were,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. “They were a threat to no one. There are simply no explicable reasons why the alleged actions of this officer were taken.”

He faces three counts per victim.

If convicted, Debono could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.

The chief said Monday he was aware that the charges may be coming since last week but not when they would be announced; he emphasized that the force investigated but the prosecutor is the one who decided to bring charges.

Typically, when charges are filed, Craig added, the suspension is changed to no pay.

The one incident, he said, should not reflect on the whole department and how it has managed weeks of daily protests.

Still, he acknowledged, the case is one of more than 20 allegations of misconduct against the department that are still under investigation, adding that many of them are complaints that are difficult to look into because witnesses now have legal representation and are unwilling to be interviewed.

Detectives also are still investigating protesters who are accused of property destruction and assaulting police officers.

In Debono’s case, sometime after midnight on May 31, after a protest against police brutality sparked by the high-profile death of George Floyd, Debono fired upon the three journalists after most protestors had dispersed, Worthy said.

Debono was in riot gear, and in addition to his weapon that fired rubber pellets, he also had his department-issued firearm.

The journalists — Nicole Hester, 30; Seth Herald, 28; and Matthew Hatcher, 29 — were covering the protest at Woodward Avenue and State Street, Worthy said. They wore press credentials.

They identified themselves as members of the press, had their hands up and asked to cross the street. As the three began to cross, Debono is accused of firing his weapon at them, striking all of three with rubber pellets.

The shooting, Worthy said, was unprovoked.

In addition, Worthy said, Herald’s wrist was injured. Hatcher’s face was bruised, with a mark on his nose and more injuries to his ribs, and Hester was hit in the face, neck, arms and legs.

Craig said that since the incident, the force has had conversations and training is ongoing — with constant debriefings.

“You’ve got to remember, we have a youthful workforce, and I don’t know of a time in the recent past that we’ve had to deal with violent protesters,” he said. “So, by in large, this department performed in a spectacular manner.”

Craig added that Detroit — unlike other major cities — has so far averted looting and burning, and while some officers have been injured and police cars have been damaged, most officers have acted “very appropriately.”