Inset: Dakarai Larriett (Facebook). Background: Larriett during an April traffic stop in Benton Harbor, Michigan (Michigan State Police).
A high-ranking executive is accusing Michigan State Police troopers of racially profiling him during a traffic stop and then “dehumanizing” him by forcing him to go to the bathroom in front of them.
Dakarai Larriett, who is Black and gay, recently filed the federal lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan against MSP and the troopers involved in the stop, George Michael Kanyuh and Matthew Okaiye. The incident in question occurred around 3 a.m. April 10 in Benton Harbor, a city on the Mitten State’s west side. Troopers accused Larriett, 41, of rolling through a stoplight in his BMW, something he denies. A friend who was with him in the car concurred.
When Kanyuh, who is white, approached Larriett’s SUV, he claimed he smelled something “fruity” on Larriett’s breath and asked him whether he had been drinking that night.
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“Trooper Kanyuh repeatedly questioned me about my occupation, education level, degrees and inquired about my vehicle. These inquiries seemed unrelated to the alleged DUI and appeared unnecessary,” Larriett wrote in an affidavit attached to the lawsuit.
The troopers then conducted a series of sobriety tests in a “cold and dark alley,” he said. Larriett said he was only wearing pajamas. He insisted to troopers he had not been drinking or smoking marijuana that night. Nonetheless, Kanyuh allegedly told Larriett it was his “professional opinion” that he had THC in his system.
Okaiye, who is Black, also asked “unrelated” questions about his car and career, per Larriett. Troopers took him to the hospital where his blood was drawn. There was never a Breathalyzer test given, he said. The cops then drove him to the Berrien County Jail where he underwent an X-ray scan as part of the booking process, he said. It revealed an “anomaly in my stomach,” Larriett said.
They accused him of swallowing drugs “despite clear evidence from an X-ray machine that what they thought were drugs was simply gas,” Larriett said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press.
“I was required to use the restroom publicly, and Officer Kanyuh rudely yelled at me, ‘Don’t flush,”” Larriett wrote in the affidavit.
Larriett, an executive at Whirlpool, said he was “so humiliated” by the bathroom experience.
“This was dehumanizing,” he told the Free Press.
Larriett spent several hours in the lockup until he was released around noon. He was charged with operating under the influence of a controlled substance, but prosecutors dropped the case after his blood test came back negative for drugs and alcohol, according to the lawsuit.
The suit is demanding $10 million and accuses the troopers of violating Larriett’s Fourth and 14th Amendment protections and his civil rights.
Following the incident, Larriett filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the body camera and dashcam videos from that night. After reviewing the videos, he accused the troopers of trying to plant drugs on him so they could charge him with the crime. The video shows troopers searching through his trunk.
“Then, at timestamp 3:26:49 AM Trooper Okaiye inquires, ‘Drugs?’ Trooper Kanyuh replies, ‘I don’t think I have any. Yeah you know I had a stash in here somewhere. I don’t know where it’s at,’” the lawsuit said.
That allegation is something the MSP firmly denies. A spokeswoman says the aforementioned “stash” was referring to straws used for breathalyzer tests.
“The Michigan State Police is committed to unbiased policing and the fair treatment of all individuals. We take any allegations of misconduct with the utmost seriousness,” spokeswoman Shannon Banner said.
Banner stated that the traffic stop was within agency policy.
Larriett’s lawyers also uncovered some of Kanyuh’s social media posts they deem racist and homophobic, including a retweet that describes a Black woman in a pink dress as a “crackhead.”
An internal affairs investigation looking into the matter is ongoing.
“Sexist, racist and homophobic remarks are not in line with the values of the Michigan State Police,” Banner said. “The allegation about these personal social media posts is part of the internal affairs investigation. We want to assure the community that this matter will continue to be handled professionally and with the utmost integrity.”
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