Burton Police Officer Charged with Ethnic Intmidation

A former detective in Burton is facing charges after allegedly calling someone a racially derogatory name and striking them during an arrest.

According to the Genessee County Prosecutor’s Office, 41-year-old Eric Freeman was on the scene of an arrest on February 1st where a suspect was being handcuffed on the ground, when Freeman lowered himself to be face to face with the suspect, referred to them with a racially derogatory name, and slapped the suspect’s face.

Freeman resigned after the incident. He was arraigned Wednesday on charges of felony ethnic intimidation, misconduct in office, and misdemeanor assault.