Detroit Police Chief James Craig initially said the officer who struck a man at least four times, including once in the face, with his baton during a violent arrest at Meijer in Detroit Oct. 8 was justified.

“Our findings are somewhat different than when I first reported this matter,” Craig said Monday.

Craig now feels the officer should have taken steps to deescalate the situation before engaging in force against 23-year-old David Jarel Bivins, who was suspected of but later cleared of shoplifting.

A $25 million-plus lawsuit filed by attorneys Geoffrey N. Fieger and Gary N. Felty Jr. on behalf of Bivins and his fiance, Hillary Ross, alleges false arrest and imprisonment, assault and battery, slander, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution and negligence.

It names Meijer, off-duty Detroit Police Officer Lonnie Wade and at least two other Meijer security guards.

Wade was stationed at the Meijer store, where he works a secondary policing job sanctioned by the police department.

According to the lawsuit, the couple had finished shopping when Ross decided to use the bathroom.

As Bivins waited for his fiance, he began moving items between the bags to make them easier to handle on the public bus they planned to ride home.

Wade and a security guard became suspicious, approached and asked Bivins to produce his receipt, which he did not have because it was with Ross in the women’s bathroom.

When Ross returned, she became angry and decided to exchange all of the items she’d purchased for a refund.

While Ross exchanged the items, the lawsuit alleges Wade continued talking to Bivins and it escalated to violence. The Detroit police chief said the suspect directed some vulgarity toward the officer before being struck.

“This unjustified and intolerable attack was documented on video both inside and outside the store,” Fieger said in a statement. “I call upon the powers that be to bring charges against the assailant.”

Full lawsuit:

Detroit police last week submitted a warrant requesting the suspect be charged with disorderly conduct and resisting or obstructing a police officer. Craig said, based on a more complete analysis of available video, he is requesting the charges be dismissed.

The officer has since been suspended from his secondary employment job and placed on administrative duty within the police department.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the evidence to determine whether the officer’s use of force violated the law.

Craig said the officer appeared to hit the suspect three times before being pulled out of the store entrance into the parking lot. While in the parking lot, the officer struck Bivins in the face one time, splitting his lip.

The lawsuit claims there were 8 to 9 “savage” blows, including a final to Bivins’ mouth that smashed his teeth.

Craig said officers aren’t supposed to hit suspects in the face with their batons, but it happened “at the same time as the suspect was making a move to take the officer down to the ground unsuccessfully … ”

“Looking at that, it didn’t appear that it was intentional but it appeared that he was trying to get the subject off of him,” the chief said.

Craig said the officer is supposed to offer support to Meijer security, not take the lead in security matters, which the officer improperly did in this case without the assistance of security staff.

The incident was captured on video by store cameras and bystanders.