Man Appearing on Police Assault Charge Allegedly Punches Wayne Deputy

Wayne County Deputy Crystal Dominguez was transported by ambulance to the Detroit Receiving Hospital after she was knocked unconscious at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice about 9 a.m. Friday. (Screenshot: WDIV-TV video)

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A Westland man allegedly struck and knocked out a female sheriff’s deputy Friday as he was being escorted to a court proceeding on a similar charge at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit.

Wayne County Deputy Crystal Dominguez, a seven-year veteran of the office, was hit once on the head and fell to the floor unconscious, The Detroit News reports. Dominguez has regained consciousness and was being treated at Detroit Receiving Hospital Friday.

“It came out of nowhere and was totally unprovoked. ...” Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said during a news conference. “He just randomly attacked her.”

It wasn’t the first time the suspect – identified by WDIV-TV as Andre Wilson, 29, of Westfield – has allegedly assaulted a police officer. When the man identified as Wilson allegedly punched Dominguez, he was being escorted by a caseworker to a proceeding related to charges that he assaulted a Taylor police officer and resisted arrest last month.

Dominguez was checking people through the metal detector when Wilson was asked to remove his jacket, said Lt. Gerard Pryor, who oversees deputies on security detail.

“He was instructed to remove his jacket. He did so at that time. As he passed through the metal detector he was placing his jacket back on his person and once he had his jacket on he just turned toward officer Dominguez, striking her one time in the head area,” Pryor told WDIV.

At the news conference, Napoleon did not identify the suspect, but said he “has a history of requiring treatment and has been under some sort of probate court supervision for the last three years.”

Attacks on officers in the courthouse aren’t common, Napoleon said.

“This is the first time in recent memory that something like this has happened,” the sheriff said. “But it amplifies the fact that what men and women in law enforcement do every single day is dangerous. You never know where an attack may come from or when.”