DETROIT, MI -- Fired Inkster police officer William Melendez, 47, will spend at least 13 months and up to 10 years in prison for the videotaped beating of 58-year-old motorist Floyd Dent in January 2015.
The sentence will be reduced by 85 days for time served.
A jury convicted Melendez in November of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and misconduct in office.
With his arms crossed, Melendez blinked frequently as Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans summarized her interpretation of the crime, calling his acts "cowardly" and "barbaric."
She referred to the dash-camera that captured the arrest as the "eye of justice."
"He was grabbed out thrown to the ground and struck 16 times in the head by the defendant," Evans said. "Mr. Dent was struck, kicked and Tased while he was on the ground by a group" of officers who appeared to celebrate and bump fists afterwards.
Evans said one image that stuck out to her was surveillance video of Dent in his jail cell after the beating. He was sitting there and shaking his head on a cot, she said.
Evans said she's confident Dent would give back every penny of his $1.37 million settlement to go back in time before his attack, and that the settlement money could have been put to better use by the Inkster Police Department.
"It seems like you thought you were fighting a losing battle ... It's like a cancer," Evans said to Melendez. " ... It eats away at you ... It's compounded by being a police officer.
"There's a culture among police officers ... the 'Blue wall of silence,' protecting police officers at all cost ... us versus them ... and cover-up mentality."
Evans said police are trained to "conform and obey" through shame and obedience.
Being a police officer in a city with very little money means you're "damned if you do, damned if you don't."
Evans said "we'll pay now or we'll pay greater later" if we don't invest properly in our police force.
"The game went like this: Let's follow a car in a known drug area, and based on your experience you knew it would likely be a black man ... " Evans said. "You and your sidekick ... caught your prey."
Evans called the arrest "dirty, filthy" tasks.
"You were so into your bravado you forgot the eyes of justice was watching you," the judge said. "You knew better; you were better trained than all of those officers out there."
Melendez said it's unfortunate the public doesn't feel his actions were justified. He asked them not to lose faith in law enforcement because many officers would give up their lives to save a citizen's.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Bob Donaldson accused Melendez of planting evidence and lying on police reports and under oath.
Donaldson asked the judge to sentence Melendez harshly as a message to other police officers who might abuse their power.
Defense attorney James Thomas called Melendez's actions a "lapse of judgement in a brief moment in time."
He appeared in court Tuesday with shiny, groomed hair and a fresh black suit. Melendez glanced back at his wife and smiled before taking his seat at the defense table. Two rows back over the ex-cop's right shouder sat 58-year-old Dent with his daughter.
Defense attorney James Thomas said Melendez is a man who "put on a uniform every day and went out into public not knowing what was going to happen," "stood in front of people being shot at and protected them," rushed into a burning building to save lives and, was once named Detroit police officer of the year and received at least 14 awards for his police work.
Wayne Circuit Judge Vonda Evans said 16 people wrote letters of recommendation on Melendez's behalf.
Despite the dismissal of charges, Thomas maintained that Dent was using cocaine the night in question.
"Robocop" is the nickname Melendez earned because of rough tactics he allegedly used while policing in Detroit, where he worked prior to taking a job in Inkster.
Melendez was performing surveillance on a motel known for prostitution and drugs Jan. 28, 2015 when he saw Dent leave the premises. Melendez began following Dent and activated his lights after Dent committed an alleged traffic violation.
Dent didn't immediately stop. Video footage of the stop showed Dent proceed, while swerving, for more than 20 seconds before coming to a complete stop. Dent testified he was swerving to avoid potholes and didn't want to stop in an area that wasn't well lit.
When he did stop, Dent opened the driver-side door and was pulled from his Cadillac by unpaid volunteer police officer John Zieleniewski.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Donaldson called Zieleniewski a "wannabe cop" who doesn't like black people.
"At least give me the satisfaction of knowing you were out there beating up n*****s right now," read a text sent to Zieleniewski in 2015 that was read aloud during a hearing. "LOL," Zieleniewski responded months after the Dent arrest, apparently referring to someone else. "Just got done with one."
After Dent was pulled from the car, Melendez placed Dent in a chokehold and began punching him in the face and head.
Dent was then shot with a Taser multiple times and taken to jail. Dent testified that he requested medical care multiple times before being hospitalized hours later.
According to Dent's attorney Gregory Rohl, Dent suffered a fractured left orbital bone, blood on the brain and four broken ribs. He spent three days in the hospital.
After searching Dent's Cadillac, police were seen in dash-cam video footage holding up a baggie with a white substance that police said contained crack cocaine.
Worthy originally charged Dent with driving on a suspended license, possession of cocaine and resisting or assaulting a police officer.
All of the charges were subsequently dismissed.
"It's in the best interest of justice," Worthy said in April, when asked about her reasoning for dismissing the cocaine possession charge.
Dent denied a details in Melendez's police report that claimed Dent said "I'll kill you," and bit the officer's arm. Dent also denies going to the Budget Inn, where Melendez was conducting surveillance.
Instead, Dent said, he was delivering Bud Light and a bottle of Remy Martin cognac to a blind friend at a nearby apartment complex.
Dent was adamant he hadn't used or possessed cocaine the night of the arrest -- a statement Rohl said was backed up by drug and lie detector tests.
But he tested positive for cocaine in a urine test after the arrest.
That revelation came after Inkster officials already agreed to settle any civil claims with Dent for $1.3 million.
It was revealed at the sentencing hearing that Dent suffered $12,162 in damages for medical bills and attorney fees.
Rohl accused the hospital of altering the test results to help police department's cocaine possession case.
"Quite honestly, it's our belief that Garden City (hospital) did a favor for the police officers and checked the box," Rohl said. " ... Do your research and you'll find there are other hospitals available, however, whenever they beat a person they always take them to Garden City Hospital for a reason."
Following a hearing in May, Rohl said the hospital has "a little issue on their hands" because they "conspired with these officers," and "they're our next defendant."
After the criminal charges against Melendez, acting Inkster Police Chief Vicki Yost resigned and officials suspended two other officers.
Melendez has been involved in multiple prior lawsuits alleging civil rights violations.
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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Officer nicknamed "robocop" gets 13 months for beating motorist after attack is caught on dash-cam: Victim was "thrown to the ground and struck 16 times in the head," then kicked and Tased by a group of officers "who appeared to celebrate and bump fists afterwards" via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1P5Oe0f
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