Shelby Twp. man, teen sons charged in assault of police officers

A Shelby Township man and his two teenage sons are accused of assaulting two police officers over the weekend and leaving them with concussions, officials said Thursday.

The two officers are on leave while they recover, they said.

Meanwhile, their three alleged assailants have been charged.

Sam Kassab, 55, was charged Monday in 41-A District Court in Shelby Township with assaulting a police officer causing serious impairment, assaulting a police officer causing injury and assaulting a police officer, officials said.

A judge set his bond at $100,000 and scheduled his next court appearance for Wednesday.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison for the assault causing serious impairment charge, four years for the assault causing injury charge and up to two years for assaulting a police officer.

Authorities said Kassab's 15-year-old son was charged with assaulting a police officer causing serious impairment, assaulting a police officer causing injury and assault and refusing to provide DNA samples. He was charged in juvenile court and a referee set his bond at $500.

Meanwhile, his 16-year-old brother was charged with three counts of assaulting a police officer. A referee also set his bond at $500.

Police said a 55-year-old Troy man who was arrested in connection with the same incident involving the three defendants was charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Authorities said officers were called at about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday for a report of four people in a Cadillac Escalade shooting a gun at people. A witness gave officers the license plate number of the suspect vehicle.

Police checked the number and the vehicle was registered to a home in the 51000 block of Clear Spring Lane near 23 Mile and Ryan Road, they said.

Officers arrived at the home and found the suspect vehicle parked in the driveway. They spoke to the occupants of the home and impounded the vehicle.

As the SUV was being towed, a man, later identified as Kassab, commanded two teenage boys to block the tow truck and prevent it from leaving, according to authorities.

Police said Kassab then pushed officers, who in turn advised him he was being arrested.

Kassab allegedly began fighting with a police sergeant and an officer as they tried to place him into custody. The officers wrestled Kassab to the ground, they said, and tried to handcuff him. At that time, his 15-year-old son allegedly snuck up on the officers and attacked them.

Additional police officers arrived and all three were arrested, officials said.

They said the sergeant and the officer were taken to a hospital.

In addition to a concussion, the sergeant suffered facial cuts as well as broken bones around his eyes and face. The officer, who also sustained a concussion and momentarily lost consciousness during the attack, also had cuts to his face.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez