Crime & Safety
Charges Filed in Dearborn Funeral Procession Assault
A Detroit resident was charged this week in an incident that took place during the procession in October.
Dearborn police have filed charges against a man for an assault that allegedly occurred during an October funeral procession.
According to police, a funeral procession passed through Dearborn en route to a cemetery in another city on Oct. 25. Another drive failed to yield to the procession and collided with two vehicles. The driver of one of the vehicles involved in the accident—a Dearborn resident who was part of the procession—got out of his car to check the damage and call the police.
At that point, police say, several other people in the procession exited their vehicles and approached the man to yell at him about the crash. The argument escalated until one or more people reportedly started hitting the man and took his cell phone.
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Police arrived and broke up the fight, but did not press charges at the time.
However, an investigation led to the arrest this month of 38-year-old Dennis Perry of Detroit in the assault.
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Perry was charged with assault and robbery, and was arraigned Monday in the 19th District Court.
"While we realize emotions tend to run high when people are involved in funeral proceedings, there is no excuse for turning a traffic accident into an assault and robbery," Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement. "We will relentlessly follow up on this type of violent crime."
