Warrant Issued for Man Accused of Assaulting Lakeville Police Sergeant

A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for a Detroit man charged with injuring a Lakeville police sergeant in September when police came to a Lakeville hotel to investigate a disturbance.

Andre Williams, 55, is charged with fourth-degree assault of a peace officer, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $6,000 fine. He is also charged with obstructing the legal process or arrest with force or violence, a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. 

According to the criminal complaint, Lakeville police were called to an unnamed hotel  just after 4 a.m. Sept. 9 after the hotel clerk told a dispatcher that a man, subsequently identified as Williams, had tried to get behind the counter and had grabbed her wrists. She said Williams seemed under the influence of drugs and was outside the hotel, pacing back and forth.

A police sergeant and an officer arrived at the hotel and spotted Williams in front of the hotel. He didn’t respond to the officers’ questions, mumbling and putting his hands in his pockets, according to the complaint.

At one point, Williams took several pieces of paper and a knife out of his pocket and put them on the ground. As officers continued to question him, Williams told them he was “cool” and that there wouldn’t be a problem, then began to bend over toward the knife on the ground.

One of the officers kicked the knife away, and both officers grabbed Williams’ arms, telling him that they needed to search him for weapons.

After the search, which turned up on weapons, the officers told Williams that they were going to release his arms. As soon as they released him, Williams wound up and threw a punch at the sergeant’s head, according to the complaint. The sergeant tried unsuccessfully to duck, but the punch landed hard on the side of his head.

Williams then slammed a closed fist above and behind the sergeant’s right ear, knocking him backward and almost to the ground, the complaint charges.

The officer grabbed Williams and forced him to the ground. Both officers tried to control Williams, who fought wildly and continued to scream, struggling and refusing to comply with their orders.

The officers used a stun gun on Williams because they were unable to handcuff him, but he continued to struggle. Officers held him on the ground until backup officers arrived to help.

The sergeant was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a sprained right shoulder, bruises on his left knee and right arm and a hematoma on the left side of his head.

Williams’ whereabouts are unknown. Anyone with information on him should contact local police.