A Murfreesboro man is claiming that he was unnecessarily roughed up by police. Joseph Sushak was apparently in his yard on Minerva Drive at the same time that a police pursuit came to an end on Eagle Street. Officers allegedly thought that Sushak was the suspect who was running from police in a stolen Acura. Sushak was not the suspect, but suffered multiple injuries when police wrongly detained him and placed him in the back of a patrol car. Minutes later, officers realized they had the wrong person in custody and that the person they were looking for was from Laos. Sushak is from Nigeria and is 30-years older than the person who police ended up taking to jail. After officers realized that Sushak did nothing wrong, he was transported to the local hospital where he was treated for his injuries. The Murfreesboro man will meet with an attorney on Friday and will file a formal complaint against the officers involved in the mishap at that time, according to WTVF.
Report from the Murfreesboro Police Department:
The Murfreesboro Police Department engaged in a vehicle pursuit of a dangerous, violent felon on January 30, 2012. The suspect, who attempted to strike several officers and their patrol vehicles, led officers on a chase throughout the city and was an apparent threat to the community.
During the pursuit, a suspect description was given over the radio by the initiating officer. At the conclusion of the vehicle pursuit, the suspect struck a Rutherford County Sheriff’s patrol vehicle and attempted to run from officers on foot in the 1600 block of Eagle Street.
Responding officers immediately began a search of the area and observed a person matching one of the descriptions running from the direct vicinity of the foot pursuit. This individual, later identified as Joseph Sushak (718 Minerva Drive, Murfreesboro), was observed by officers running up the back steps of a house in an attempt to gain access to the residence. Mr. Sushak was ordered to stop and surrender to officers. According to an officer attempting to handcuff Mr. Sushak, he went to the ground as directed, however, he refused to place his hands behind his back. After a brief struggle, he was handcuffed and taken to a nearby police vehicle. He was quickly ruled out as the suspect by an officer and a supervisor who were directly involved in the pursuit. He was immediately taken out of handcuffs and informed he was not under arrest and was free to leave.
During the struggle, Mr. Sushak sustained an injury to his face. Because he sustained injuries, we offered to call him an ambulance. He initially refused. He was released and returned to his residence. Approximately ten minutes later, Mr. Sushak called Police Communications and asked to speak to the supervisor again. The supervisor responded to the residence to speak with him and after observing Mr. Sushak’s appearance, requested an ambulance respond to the residence. Rutherford County EMS did respond and transported Mr. Sushak to Middle Tennessee Medical Center, where he received medical treatment.
During this time, the actual suspect had fled to a nearby friend’s residence and was in a hidden position within the home. Officers were able to bring him into custody without incident and he currently faces several felony charges in Rutherford County as well as Cheatham County. While we are glad to get a violent felon off the streets, it is regrettable Mr. Sushak was injured during the fast paced and dynamic incident. We are continuing our internal review of the circumstances surrounding the pursuit to ensure compliance with police policy and procedure.
