by
Rinny
The video says it all. In November of last year, a woman by the name of Charda Gregory was arrested and booked on the count of trashing a motel room in Warren, MI. Once in custody, a female police officer detained Gregory while cutting her weave off with scissors. Video of the incident went viral. The police officer had since been fired and all criminal charges against Gregory were dropped.
Editors Note: Gregory came forward with her account of the events, stating she barely remembered what happened and could have possibly been drugged at a party she attended earlier in the evening. It also should be noted that the police officer who cut Gregory’s hair has a track record of discipline problems within her respective department. One as recent as 2010 for being “untruthful.” Video
Gregory went on to recently reach a settlement of $75,000 with the City of Warren, MI in light of the incident.
The original survellaince video from the jail is below:
What are your thoughts on how the city handled the case? Was $75,000 enough to compensate for Gregory’s experience?
56 Responses
At many jails, prisoners are required to remove hair extensions that clip in because they could be used as a weapon or to commit suicide.
But Charda Gregory didn’t have clip in extensions. She had a weave that was sewn right into her real hair.
Charda Gregory is a young mother who loves her hair. And the 22-year-old hair dresser loves changing her style often by using weaves.
But Gregory’s hair changed dramatically after an encounter with a Warren Police Officer.Â
Even though there’s no audio on the video from inside the Warren Jail, you can see Gregory kick her legs and writhe in pain as the officer plunges scissors into her hair, hacking away at the weave that was sewn into braids on her scalp.
So how did this all begin?
“I was confused. Â I didn’t know what happened and what was going on,” said Gregory.
Gregory says on November 13, she went to a party in Detroit, where she believes someone drugged her.
Paul Misukewicz is her lawyer:
“She had a couple of drinks, then woke up in a strange place. Didn’t know how she got there, completely disoriented, said Paul Misukewicz, Gregory’s lawyer.
That strange place was the Suez Motel on 8 Mile in Warren, where Gregory got arrested for trashing a room.
By the time she was brought in to the jail lock-up on the top floor of the Warren Police Department, Gregory had been pepper sprayed, but she appears calm. Â
It’s clear in the video that Gregory can barely stand as she comes face to face with Officer Bernadette Najor. Â
“She took it upon herself to get the scissors. Â And for whatever reason, decided that she was going to butcher my client,” said Misukewicz.
As Officer Najor pats Gregory down, the officer pushes Gregory against the wall twice.
Suddenly Najor starts going for Gregory’s hair. The officers struggle with Gregory, dragging her over to a restraining chair to tie down her arms and legs.
Officer Najor starts yanking Gregory’s head from side to side, chopping out chunks of hair. It takes 3 full minutes before Najor gives one final yank and removes what’s left of Gregory’s weave.
Gregory tells us in some places she now has bald spots because Najor ripped her real hair out by the roots.
“She’s a very horrible person,” said Gregory about Officer Najor.
“No words can describe how I feel about that right now. Â I’d rather not say exactly how I feel about that, I’m just very upset,” said Yolanda Ford, Gregory’s mother.
As the son of a retired Warren police officer, Misukewicz says he’s never seen anything like this.
“I guess the best way to describe it would be sadistic. There’s absolutely no reason for it. And it’s demeaning,” said Misukewicz.
“There’s a real simple thing: it’s called right and wrong.  And to me this is something that I won’t tolerate, I don’t think the citizens of Warren will tolerate it,” said Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green. Green says Najor’s explanation that she had to remove Gregory’s weave because of alleged threats of suicide makes no sense.
“I don’t buy that’s the proper way to treat a human being.  I don’t think it’s decent, I don’t think there was any reason to do it, and when I look at it – that bothers me,” said Green.
Jesus is going to get them bastards. She should have bit the lady on the neck or started walking on the ceiling. Ain’t nobody cutting my hair off and walking away with their face still in tact.
Why did only the wonan cop get fired!!!!!! Those men were involved. I find it equal to murder if you were there then you were involved!!!!!
The reason why weave is removed because they can be used as weapons, particularly suicide. The weave track can be used to strangle. I know it is extreme but I accept the reasoning because desperate people can do desperate things.
Well she’s hardly going to be able to remove weave thats SEWN in rather than just clipped in to her hair is she?! The conduct towards her was equal to them wrangling some farm animal and just attests to the attitude some have that prisoners/blacks/whoever they look down on are somehow sub-human.
I have seen this video before and I am amazed over the focus of her weave being cut out vs her getting assaulted before her hair was cut out. I don’t understand. I know this website is a hair blog so BGLH will get a pass… But still, from my memory she was aggressively pushed and hit and the hair we just a part of the other crimes against her. When this story first broke I felt the media, even black media sources, were laughing at her and her weave.
With that said… It is protocol for weave to be removed while in jail. So them cutting weave out doesn’t offend me. But you can tell though the police officer was over aggressive and I believe she also intended to cut her natural hair too.
Exactly. The overkill attitude is clear for anyone who has eyes to see it. There should also be a sub-policy for sewn-in weaves. As for the aggressive treatment, I agree, she was actually pushed and wrangled like an animal rather than a human with rights to be treated with respect. Their attitude is repugnant.
@stacey I agree about thep male officers. Also I know that persons smuggle things in their hair but if this woman was arrested after being zonked out at a party what could she have in it? couldn’t they just do a search of the hair then? And if it was a case of her being invited for a extended stay in the free hotel and the rules are no weaves then I am quite sure they could find a more humane way to remove the extensions if they cared to try
Why is it always black people being treated like this, to the point of murder? Every scene reminds us of the way slaves were treated as sub-human objects.
I just don’t get this story. What would possess someone to cut off the hair of an assailant. Did she feel this was an appropriate disciplinary measure. How would this make the arrest better? Would she be easier to manage without the weave. Sick. I tell you.
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Can’t understand what her drinking/or whatever has to do with them cutting her hair?? Or maybe that’s just me.
Wow i live like 20mins from there smh that’s messed up i believe she should receive more money
All the male police officers in that video should have been fired along with the female police officer. What a disgrace. Sad, they are more comments on Blue Ivy’s hair than there are on another black female being treated like we are still in slavery. SMH!!!!
Well said.
That video is hard to watch…I’m outraged! She was treated like an animal…there is no reason whatsoever to cut that woman’s hair. It was a way to devalue and demean her as a human being and it was RACIST beyond measure. Anyone who says racism is dead needs to have their heads (and eyes) examined!
Shocking and twisted behaviour from the white police officer. Can’t say I’m surprised though. Embracing our heritage brings feat into some people’s souls.
My mother cautioned us to never put our drink down or let it out of our sight at a party. If we did, she told us not to drink anything else from it. This is so sad. No one deserves to have something like this happen to them. I’m so grateful to my mom for giving me this advice. Let’s pass this advice along to other young women (and men) so they can avoid being victimized in this fashion. My heart goes out to this young woman. Seventy-five thousand isn’t enough but I hope it eases her pain.
To the commenters who have written comments about the fact that other victims who have suffered worse treatment at the hands of police have received so much less, I say so what. Is it your position that since MANY are not compensated for the injustices they suffer at the hands of police then ALL should go uncompensated? I surely hope not. Until all receive the just treatment and due compensation owing them, we should feel comforted by the few who do receive a measure of compensation.
My mom gave me the same advice even tho she knows I don’t drink alcohol & she even said not to put your food plate down & go back to it .Scumbags can put drugs in ANYTHING !! Apparently,according to Anastasia’s post, weave cutting is protocol in adults jails in California & they’ve done it to whites too. Stupid idea,treating people like this. Why not just have someone search their hair. To me $ 75,000 isn’t enough
As a respect to her, I’m choosing not to see this video. Good for her for seeking justice.
I worked as a probation officer in juvenile hall in California. We had a young lady (White) transferred from Orange County jail on a juvenile warrant, and the officers had cut her weave out if her head. Her hair looked butchered, to say the least. But, yes cutting out weave is protocol in adult jails in California.
Then why did she get fired
Did they push her forward and then wrangle her like some farm animal beforehand though? and did she have her hair ripped from her scalp leaving bald patches as this (Black) woman experienced? Her head literally WAS butchered. This racist behaviour is outrageous and though you may make comparisons in the name of standard procedures, there’s just way too many blacks that have been mistreated and killed in custody and on the streets from pre-civil rights days to present day to ignore what’s ACTUALLY happening here. You may disagree but TRUTH is TRUTH. Where’s the plethora of examples of white women/men being brutalised like this for decades? ..no, centuries?
She should have gotten more. Look at the way they treated her, like some kind of animal. And what was the point of cutting off her hair. I don’t understand this at all.
This is horrible and one of my worst fears. I would be flipping out too if this happened to me.
Wait…the victim got money and the office got fired? I’ve heard horror stories of women being raped in their own apartments and innocent people getting shot by the NYPD and the office only gets a couple months of desk work. Wow :/ I wish every person that gets abused by officers of the law gets comparable justice
True.
I was surprised as well. But I’ve read stories – outside of NY, FL and CA of course – where victims of police crimes actually DO get some measure of justice. But there’s also a lot more to the victim’s sexual attack, the police attack and the history of this department we haven’t heard yet, I’m sure.
They clearly messed with the wrong victim this time.
$75,000? That’s chump change. That’s like JUST enough to pay my college loans, undergrad and grad combined. This is easily a million dollar settlement but I think somewhere in the ball park of $200,000-$500,000 would have been more appropriate.
That video makes my blood boil, not just because of the demeaning act, but because of the blatant disregard for HER victimhood. She woke up in a hotel room with men she did not know and had no recollection of how she got there. THAT should have been the real issue.
If the police department would have done their job and actually served and protected, someone would still have their job, the department would be 75k richer and an investigation could have been issued to find the goons who allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted the woman.
Good job America.
Seeing this just saddens me. Did anyone notice how the other staff just acted so nonchalant while she was being held down?It’s almost as if this type of thing goes on regularly.
It seems so violently done -_-. But at least they only cut the tracks out and not her actual hair! Along with the 75k I would have requested they shave the woman who was cutting her hair bald. Then…. And only then would i have felt that justice had been served lol.
Reports say she was left with bald spots where her own hair had been yanked out.
I saw that video sometime ago and thought it was extremely degrading, humiliating, racist, sickening . . . I could go on and on.
She deserves MORE, but at the very least, every penny of that $75,000 should be TAX FREE!!!
That’s good for that stupid ass bald headed hoe,she should of been more aware of her surroundings!HA
-all the points for this victim blaming trash.
And then there are people like you who are stupid for the sake of being stupid.
It should have come out of the police officer’s pocket instead.
Whoa. Where’s all the money coming from?
More to the point, where’s all the racist hatred coming from down the centuries to present day?? Any concern for that at all?
This poor woman was did so wrong, the female cop should of been fired & so should the other officers that helped tie her down & stood by while the female officer cut her hair off. There was no compassion shown, just humiliation, & I’m sure it was painful when that officer was cutting that poor woman’s weave & natural hair, we have no idea if it was a sewn, glue or how it was installed a number of things could of caused permanent damage to her scalp because it was apparent that officer did not care. I believe what that woman went through 75,000 was NOT enough & they could of handled it a whole lot differently & the charges should of been dropped
This article left out some facts though. She claims that she had been drugged and woke up in the room without knowing how she got there and the room wasn’t hers. There is a possibility she may have been sexually assaulted. So basically,this woman is possibly a victim of a serious crime and this is how the police treated her.
75k is not enough.
I saw this video a few months ago and I felt violated. I cannot watch it again. Was there no more humane way to handle the situation? I am glad justice has been served.
The article states that her weave got cut off. Did her real hair also?
I think $75,000 is enough. The cop getting fired is even better.
I heard they cut her hair so harshly they ended up pulling her natural hair out too
According to the article, She was at a party & woke up in a strange place & got scared and freaked out in the motel.. She didn’t just show up & start messing stuff up.
That’s even more disturbing!!! Did the police even think to offer a rape kit for her? Nope, just a “wild” black female who needed to be jailed.
Yeah, seriously, why were these details left out? She was a victim of a crime and the cop humiliated her even further.
This is shocking, and it is humiliating for the victim. Glad she got payed for the prejudice.
Nooooo… She should have been paid more than that!! This is ridiculous! Smh!
I agree. i dont think 75K was enough under any circumstances for cutting someones hair off. And then holding her down to do it. Shes not in prison, its a city or county jail. So its temporary and the charges werent that serious anyway. And what does any of that have to do with her hair. I think they should have paid more just on civil rights. just wrong!
While I think 75K was a bit much, I also think the hotel should bill her; she likely wound up detained because she didn’t have the money to pay for whatever she did, and now she does. That can be her lesson learned in reference to what not to do in a hotel room. As for the police, I am glad the one who did it was fired, and I am glad they had to pay for what happened. that can be their lesson learned on how to treat an incoming defendant. I’ve never been to jail and don’t really know people who have, but as a former cosmetologist, I can say there was NO reason for anyone to cut her faux hair. If there were concerns about her hiding anything in her hair, cutting it like they did would not solve that issue unless they cut her hair all the way to the scalp. All they had to do was put on gloves and lift each section of hair and look. Would have taken less time than cutting it all off. I think the former officer who did it must have had some sort of personal psychological issue with women who wear faux hair, perhaps from something that happened on duty in the past. Whatever it was shouldn’t have been taken out on this defendant.
WOW!One thing that I’m wondering about is if the motel will bill her for trashing the room? Even though she went through that she still trashed a hotel room and needs to be held reliable for the damage. As for the hair, they aren’t supposed to do that! They have to explain the whole hoopla of why you have to take them out, then they have to basically say, if YOU don’t take them out then you’ll be forcing us to take it out for you. Then ask her does she need assistance with that? I don’t know if they told her that before they strapped her to the chair and started cutting. I mean the lady could have said its a weave, so at least the officer would have known that you have to be careful when you remove it. Well that was her bad judgment and she and the city is paying handsomely for it. I’m also glad that with the settlement that they made it clear that since you are accepting this settlement the issue is squashed. There are some lazy and crooked people out there that would twist this into something that it wasn’t and then try and get a payday every time they open their mouths about it. LET this be a LESSON to ALL Law officials or people with authority to not do this… EVER.
I must be missing something here. Was she locked up or was this just being detained for some hours? I’m not familiar with prison protocol. But if they were not supposed to cut her hair then yes, they ought to pay, I do think 75 thousand dollars is a bit much though. Was it racially motivated? I need more data.
I think that she was detained. But you know I have seen a lot of females with braids and weaves come in (I volunteered at a city jail waaay back in 99)and they didn’t do that. Only if you are being jailed do they ask you to remove that stuff, or if you can’t make bail and your court date is like a loooong time away so you would be in there a while. Since most of the time people make bail or their court day is like the next day maybe 3 days away at the most if you are jailed during a long holiday weekend they don’t make them take it out. I mean look at Paris Hilton or even Nichole Richie. When they were detained they were processed and got to keep their weave and extensions. It wasn’t until they were jailed that they had to take it out. So I don’t know, there is some stuff missing and I agree $75,000 is A LOT, but its the City basically buying her silence and cooperation. I hope this lady learns from this and doesn’t keep trashing places.
“Hours before a police officer allegedly struck Charda Gregory, restrained her and cut off her hair, the 22-year-old woke up at motel, surrounded by strangers, with no idea how she had gotten there.
She “flipped out,” said her lawyer, Paul Misukewicz, then allegedly damaged the room at the Suez Motel on 8 Mile Rd. in Warren, just north of Detroit. The cops were called, but not before Gregory ripped a TV out of the wall and smashed it, according to Warren Police.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/cops-cut-hair-off_n_4731632.html
Y’all should really read the whole story. She flipped out because she was drugged and possibly sexually assaulted.
$75,000 is not enough. She should have gotten millions. There is no justification for restraining someone and cutting off her hair. NONE. This is a travesty.
What?! Did they think she was trying to conceal a weapon or something? Smdh.