Michigan State Police say a police dash camera was not working the night troopers got into an altercation with 83-year-old Larry Sevenski.
State police released a statement Tuesday saying that the camera in the patrol car malfunctioned that night.
That footage has been a hot topic since late March, when troopers arrested Sevenski in Elmira, upsetting many in the community.
Court documents show that when they stopped Sevenski that night, he got out of his car, came at a trooper in an aggressive manner and said he wished he had a weapon.
A trooper took Sevenski to the ground and arrested him, hurting him in the process.
He’s now facing charges of assaulting a police officer.
The state police cyber section and the camera maker both confirmed the police cams were not tampered with.
State police say the malfunction has also effected other patrol vehicle cameras across the state.
Michigan State Police issued the following statement.
“The patrol car used by the troopers was equipped with in-car video; however, after working with the camera manufacturer, it is has been conclusively determined that the camera malfunctioned during the first 22 minutes of this traffic stop.
An internal review has revealed the following:
1. There was a technical failure with the video camera installed in the patrol vehicle involved in this incident. While the camera log shows that the camera started recording when the patrol car’s lights were activated, the camera malfunctioned and did not write the incident to the memory card. The only video and audio recording available of this traffic stop is a 17-second clip at the conclusion of the traffic stop that shows Sevenski being treated by medical personnel. This video is being provided to requesting media. A review of the camera log and memory card reveals at least one other video on this camera was affected by this malfunction.
2. Technical experts from the MSP Cyber Section and the camera manufacturer both independently confirmed there was no tampering of the in-car video or memory card by any MSP personnel.
3. In the time since learning of the failure of this in-car camera, the MSP has identified this technical malfunction in other cameras installed in MSP patrol vehicles in other locations across the state. The failure appears to be random and intermittent and it’s not known at this time how widespread this issue is or how long the problem has been occurring. At the request of the MSP, the camera manufacturer is actively working with us to determine the cause of the failure and to rectify the problem. As of this time, the cause of the malfunction has not been identified by the manufacturer.”
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