Detroit police veteran arrested after obstructing other officers
by R. Bailey
A veteran Detroit police officer who was already on restricted duty and banned from possessing a firearm because of his 2017 fatal shooting of a teen was arrested for illegally carrying three firearms, along with other charges.
Officer Jerold Blanding was arrested in January 2018 for three counts of possessing a firearm while under the influence, six counts of felony firearm, and eight counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. He was placed on paid suspension, and Police Chief James Craig intended to seek suspension without pay.
Blanding’s use of force and guns has placed him in the media spotlight several times over his two decades of duty. They also have cost the Detroit Police Department over $100,000 in excessive-use-of-force lawsuits.
His career began in the 1990s and so did disciplinary actions and use-of-force accusations, beginning with the use of his state Glock to shoot a “(presumably) innocent pigeon,” according to the Detroit Metro Times.
His record shows that he nearly killed an unarmed man in the late ’90s. His inappropriate use of force in 2010 cost the DPD over $100,000 and another lawsuit was pending. The pending suit appears to coincide with the 2015 shooting of Demas Parker.
When Parker had a dispute with the mother of his child, her DPD boyfriend called Blanding and another off-duty officer for “help.” The lawsuit reported that Blanding fired 15 bullets into Parker’s car, shooting him in the leg. Parker was also unarmed.
Blanding used the online name, “FatalForce” and, in 2017 he used fatal force to kill an unarmed teen. He was cleared of wrongdoing in that case, but Blanding was never cleared by the DPD to return to full duty or carry a gun.
Blanding was found at the scene of an accident in January 2018. When DPD officers tried to assist the accident victim, who was known to Blanding, he reportedly interfered with the officers.
He reportedly smelled of alcohol, slurred his words and was armed with three guns. His fellow officers arrested him and filed charges. Source: metrotimes.com (April 11, 2018)
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