A former Detroit-area police officer has been found guilty of assault in the bloody beating of a driver that was captured on dashcam video.
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Earlier Thursday, the jury sent a notice to the judge saying they had been able to reach a unanimous verdict on the assault by strangulation charge, the Detroit Free Press said. “The entire story that is at issue here”.
He said the events that led to Dent, a longtime Ford worker, being yanked out of the vehicle, thrown to the ground and “beaten senseless while he was being strangled” make no difference.
“This case is about was that force that you observed reasonable?”
After a 12-day trial, the jury came back with a verdict of guilty on “misconduct in office” (which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison), and guilty of “assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder” (which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison). Defense attorney James Thomas argued the punches were justified because Dent was aggressive and resisted police. The prosecution said there was no reason for Dent to be pulled out of his vehicle by Melendez and punched repeatedly.
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Dent has a long history of driving violations and was driving with a suspended license, according to evidence the defense presented at trial. But Wayne County’s medical examiner, Dr. Carl Schmidt, testified that he didn’t believe that to be the case based on a negative blood test processed by state police. Dent said he begged for Melendez to stop and feared for his life. He settled his lawsuit against the city of Inkster for $1.4 million. Dent maintains the drug was planted and said he didn’t resist that night.
