Ernest Griglen Jr.

How they died

Less-than-lethal force

Ernest Griglen Jr., who was diabetic and disabled, was having a hypoglycemic episode when police mistook him for a drunken driver. Police stopped Griglen on the Southfield Freeway at around 4:30 p.m. after following him for several miles; APD officer T. Brown and DPD officers Richard Michalski, Edward Villemaire, Benjamin Harless and Lee Wilsmuth were involved in the incident. Police said Griglen was combative and resisted arrest, so the officers sprayed Griglen with a mixture of pepper spray and tear gas and wrestled him to the ground. While struggling with Griglen, officers mistook the insulin pump on Griglen;s waistband for a weapon. A breath test registered no alcohol in Griglen's system and he was taken to a hospital, where his blood sugar level was about 20 (normal levels are between about 70 and 110). Hospital records reportedly showed a fracture at the base of Griglen's skull. Part of Griglen's brain was removed because of a blood clot, and he slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness. He died on May 9, 2009.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Ernest Griglen Jr., and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources