The violent incident occurred in front of Jermelle English Jr.'s 1-year-old child.

JAY-Z’s Team ROC, the social justice and philanthropic arm of Roc Nation, has hired a legal team for a man wrongfully detained by law enforcement at an Applebee’s restaurant in Kenosha, Wis. According to a press statement, Alex Spiro was brought on to represent Jermelle English Jr. and his family following the violent incident.

“The reckless arrest of Jermelle English Jr. and the careless endangerment of his infant child by the Kenosha Police Department is an absolute travesty,” detailed Team ROC Managing Director Dania Diaz in a statement. 

“The Team ROC team is here to support Jermelle and his family through this traumatic experience, demand justice, and hold the Kenosha police officers accountable.”

English Jr. was violently arrested in the presence of his 1-year-old child in mid-July at the chain restaurant after police officers claimed he was the suspect in a hit-and-run. As described by the press statement, despite pleading his innocence, he was swarmed by officers on the restaurant floor while cradling the infant.  

Local news station ABC WISN 12 reported officers entered the eatery searching for suspects described as two Black men and a woman carrying a child. The police claim the Applebee’s employees directed them to “suspicious people” that may have been involved in the crash which led them to English Jr. The actual suspects were later found in the restaurant bathroom facilities.

Despite learning that English Jr. and his family were not involved, Kenosha police still charged him with charged with disorderly conduct and resisting and obstructing an officer. The woman with him received the same charges, plus possession of marijuana.

“[Police] came in and asked [the family] to show them what car they came in, so they could verify if they were in the car accident or not,” detailed Jennifer Harris, the manager who was working at Applebee’s during the incident.

“The guy didn’t want to comply, he had his baby in his arms. [The officers] kept telling him he’s not under arrest, but he’s detained, and needed to answer this question. He was trying to say he needed to change his son’s diaper. He tried to go the other way, they tackled him into a wall and the baby hit its head on the wall. They continued to tackle him to the ground with the baby in his arms.”

In 2020, Kenosha police made headlines after shooting and seriously injuring Jacob Blake, adding to a year of national unrest, outrage, and protesting against racism and police brutality.

Kenosha Police Department spokesperson provided the following statement to WISN:

“The Kenosha Police Department has an internal process in place to review our officer’s use of force that is more robust than what the state requires. We were aware of the incident immediately as a result of that process and started a review of it. Currently it is under investigation. The investigation when complete will be comprehensive and dictate whether the officers acted appropriately or not and if any disciplinary action or additional training is deemed necessary.”