Dash-cam footage shows moment Michigan's youngest-ever lawmaker, 26, resists arrest as state troopers tackle him to the ground after 'drunk driving' crash
Authorities have released dash camera footage of the moment a Michigan state lawmaker threatened to call Governor Gretchen Whitmer on cops who arrested him after he allegedly crashed his car while drunk.
Rep Jewell Jones - who made history in 2016 by becoming the youngest-ever member of the Michigan House at the age of 21 - was arrested on April 6 in Fowlerville, about 64 miles outside of Detroit.
Police said Jones, 26, was driving with a blood-alcohol-level double the legal limit and a loaded gun in his glove compartment when he crashed his black Chevy into a ditch on the side of I-96.
In video released over the weekend, Jones, a Democrat, is heard taunting two state troopers who responded to the scene even after they tackled, pepper-sprayed and tasered him as he resisted arrest.
'If you hit me it's going to be very bad for you. I'll call Governor Whitmer right now,' Jones tells the troopers.
'I'm telling you if you do, it's not going to be good for you. I run y’all budget bro.'
Authorities released dash camera footage of the moment Michigan state Rep Jewell Jones threatened to call Governor Gretchen Whitmer on cops who arrested him after he crashed his car while drunk on Interstate 95 on April 6
Jones refused to hand over his license and resisted when officers tried to put him in cuffs. 'I'm telling you if you do, it's not going to be good for you. I run y’all budget bro,' he said
Jones continued resisting even after officers pinned him to the ground
Jones made history in 2016 as the youngest elected official in the Michigan House. He is shown right in an official picture, and left in his police mugshot
Shortly before 6pm on April 6, state troopers received multiple calls about a black Chevy with a vanity license plate reading 'ELECTED' which was speeding and driving erratically on I-96.
At 6.09pm, police and EMS say they responded to a crash involving the same vehicle, according to a police report obtained by DailyMail.com.
The responding officer wrote that the driver, later identified as Jones, appeared to be 'highly intoxicated.'
His speech was slurred and 'his eyes were red bloodshot and glassy and his fine motor skills were poor,' the officer wrote.
In the new video recorded by a camera in the officers' squad car, Jones is seen speaking to one of the troopers while another stood directly behind him.
Much of the conversation is unintelligible due to noise from passing traffic but Jones appears to be trying to convince the officers to let him go because he's a 'state rep'.
When one of the officers asked for Jones' driver's license he responds: 'I can't do that.'
The officers then move to put Jones in handcuffs. A struggle ensues and the officers pull Jones to the ground, where he threatens to call the governor.
'I don't give a f*** bro, when I call Gretchen [Whitmer] I'll need y'all ID's, badge numbers, everything,' Jones says.
'I'm not giving you my arm unless you shoot me. You shoot me, I'll get up.'
It took at least three officers to put Jones in handcuffs, according to the report, even after they used a taser and pepper spray to subdue him.
Jones also allegedly pushed an emergency medical technician in the chest, the report said.
A second video showed Jones sitting in the back of the squad car. He appeared to struggle to stay upright and had his eyes closed.
At the end of the clip he tells officers in a slurred voice: 'I would like to go home.'
Michigan State Police received multiple calls shortly before 6pm on April 6 about a black Chevy with a vanity license plate 'elected' speeding and driving erratically.
Police said Jones tried to avoid speaking with officers and get straight into an ambulance
A second video showed Jones sitting in the back of the squad car. He appeared to struggle to sit upright and had his eyes closed
Jones is serving his third term in the Michigan House, which ends on Dec. 31, 2022, but he can't run again because of term limits. He is a member of the National Guard and Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and an auxiliary officer in Inkster, Michigan, where he lives.
Jones' blood alcohol content was 0.19, more than double the the legal driving limit of 0.08, according to the police report.
During the arrest, police found a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun in the cup holder in the center console, according to the report.
Jones was pepper sprayed and tased twice by police.
Jones was ultimately charged with resisting and obstructing a police officer, operating a motor vehicle with a high blood alcohol content, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, possession of a weapon while under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving.
He was virtually arraigned on April 16.
Carolyn Henry, Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney at Livingston County, said Jones was 'combative and confrontational.'
Around the time of his arraignment, he posted a message on his Instagram expressing his confidence that God will protect him, the Detroit Free Press reported.
'This last week has literally been the craziest week I've ever had ... as a civilian,' Jones said.
But because of his religious faith, 'even now, in the midst of so much confusion, I find peace,' he said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The post appears to have since been deleted.
Gideon D'Assandro, spokesman for Michigan House Speaker Jason Wentworth, a Republican, said the lawmaker hadn't decided on what if any discipline Jones might face, according to the Free Press.
Jones said in an Instagram post, 'even now, in the midst of so much confusion, I find peace,' he said, according to the Detroit Free Press. The post appears to have since been deleted.
Jones, far right, virtually appeared in court for his arraignment with his lawyers on April 16.
Jones' lawyer, Ali Hammoud, told the Detroit Free Press that Jones is presumed innocent.
Hammoud told the Detroit newspaper that he could not comment on the details cited in the police reports because he was still reviewing evidence.
In 2018, Michigan State Police pulled over Jones for speeding, window tinting and an obstructed license plate, the Free Press reported, citing the Dearborn Press & Guide. It said troopers found 'open intoxicants' in the car, though neither he nor anyone else was drunk.
Jones is serving his third term in the Michigan House, which ends on Dec. 31, 2022, but he can't run again because of term limits.
He is a member of the National Guard and Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and an auxiliary officer in Inkster, Michigan, where he lives.
In the Legislature, Jones is Democratic vice chairman of the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee.
No comments