Michigan (WWJ) -- The ACLU of Michigan claims in a new lawsuit that a 26-year-old Black man with mental illness suffered severe abuse by Warren police in 2022 that led to damage to his heart and kidneys at the hands of officers.

The organization filed the lawsuit on behalf of Christopher Gibson in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, demanding compensation for damages and changes within the department, such as access to mental health specialists. It claims that Warren police violated Gibson's constitutional rights by allegedly using excessive force and failing to provide psychiatric care.

"Over the course of the hours, he was detained he was tasered, beaten, pepper-sprayed and threatened by a barking canine," said Mark Fancher, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan.

CBS News Detroit reached out to Warren police for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Gibson left his mother's home in Detroit on Dec. 13, 2022, after experiencing an episode. While Gibson's mother and Detroit police were searching for him, someone at a gas station spotted Gibson, became concerned and called Warren police.

The lawsuit says Gibson's mother tried calling her son back after seeing she had missed calls from him, and an officer answered the phone, advising her that Gibson was arrested on outstanding warrants for identity theft. The lawsuit claims that Gibson's mother repeatedly told police that her son suffers from a mental illness and that he should be taken to the hospital for an evaluation; however, her request was allegedly ignored by the officer.

The lawsuit said a Warren police supervisor told the woman that they would keep Gibson for observation. However, the lawsuit says she learned that her son was not in the Warren jail, and three days later, learned that he was in a "hospital for undisclosed reasons," according to the lawsuit.

A video showed Gibson telling an officer about his mental health, to which the officer said, "You picked the wrong city to be going through it."

The lawsuit claims a doctor at the hospital informed Gibson's mother that his kidney and heart were leaking. Gibson remained in the hospital for about a week before the taken to a holding cell at the Warren Police Department, where he had several encounters with officers.

"It (Warren Police Department) is an agency that, in addition to armed officers, also employs mental health specialists, social workers, drug treatment counselors and others who are prepared to respond effectively to the emergencies that actually prompt calls to the police is less likely to maintain the kind of cop culture that promotes unnecessary violence," Fancher said.