Protesters want charges after Anthony Hulon’s death in Lansing
LANSING – It’s been almost a year since Anthony Hulon died in Lansing Police Detention and his sister and dozens of protesters want the officers involved to be held accountable.
Heather Hulon and about 60 people marched to the downtown Lansing Police Department on Saturday, which is the location of the prison where her brother died of suffocation on April 11, 2020.
A Michigan State Police detective recently told Heather Hulon that the officers involved in her brother’s death will not be charged, although a Michigan Attorney General spokeswoman said officers were unwilling to discuss their findings.
Heather Hulon traveled from Arizona to march through Lansing and protest in front of the Lansing Police Department. She called for action against the officials involved.
“That’s all we want,” said Heather Hulon. “We want the police to be held accountable like everyone else. You can’t kill someone and still walk the streets, still have a job. ”
Officials arrested 54-year-old Anthony Hulon on April 10, 2020 on suspicion of domestic violence. He was treated at Sparrow Hospital and had methamphetamine and ecstasy in his system before he was taken to the LPD prison.
Upon arriving at the prison, the officers handcuffed Hulon and held him to the ground as they tried to place a hip brace on him, according to a lawsuit filed by the Hulon family. The officers persisted when Hulon pleaded and told them he could not breathe. A medical examiner found that Hulon had died of asphyxiation and decided the death was murder.
Lansing police announced that a man had died in prison on April 11, 2020. However, city officials did not reveal that four police officers were being investigated for their involvement in the death. Details were released after Hulon’s family filed an unlawful death lawsuit last fall.
Chief Daryl Green reviewed videos and reports following Hulon’s death and approved the four officers involved to return to work. These include detention officers Gary Worden and Charles Wright, officers Trevor Allman and Sgt. Edward Guerra.
A Michigan State Police detective called the Hulon family on March 15, informing them that none of the officers would be prosecuting. The AG’s office has reviewed MSP’s investigation into the officers’ actions, but has not yet issued a decision on criminal charges.
Heather Hulon hopes the police station protest and imprisonment will make a difference.
“This is my last effort,” she said. “My family really wants (AG Dana Nessel) to take another look at it.”
It was hard for the protesters to believe that charges had not yet been brought.
Myka Armisted of We the Free People of Lansing, an organization that campaigns against police brutality against colored people, looked up at the police department building and asked why the officers involved still had jobs.
“It’s crazy to me that these cops can keep working every day,” said Armisted. “This man didn’t die in this prison, he was murdered.”
This wasn’t the first time Mason’s Mark Pine protested police operations. He attended the rally to send a message.
“I hope that this will help those in power to see people united,” he said, referring to the gathering of various people who had gathered to protest Hulon’s death. “I think this is a true reflection of the Lansing community.”
Heather Hulon said she hadn’t spoken to anyone in town or the attorney general’s office. It’s like getting her family swept under the rug, she said.
“I will continue to fight for my brother, for others. It happens too often, ”she said. “We only want justice.”
Contact Mark Johnson at 517-377-1026 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.
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