Former Inkster, MI, police officer William Melendez was sentenced to 13 months to 10 years for beating a motorist. (Photo: Michigan State Police)
A Wayne County (MI) Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans sentenced Inkster police officer William Melendez to 13 months to 10 years behind bars.
Melendez sat stoically in court Tuesday as Evans, in usual fighting form, unleashed a lengthy discussion of the acts he was convicted of.
“You utilized your Dirty Harry tactics and used excessive force to arrest him,” Evans told the officer.
Evans said she got letters from various people testifying to Melendez’s high character and past acts of heroism, including saving people from a burning building.
Where was that man on the day Dent was beaten? “The way you denigrated that man was awful,” Evans said. Melendez was found guilty in November of assault and misconduct in the bloody beating of Dent during a traffic stop that was captured on video.
Police stopped Dent, 58, in Inkster for disregarding a stop sign, and dashcam video from a police vehicle shows Melendez punching him 16 times in the head.
Melendez was fired. Inkster later agreed to pay $1.4 million to Dent, who suffered broken ribs, blood on his brain and other injuries, CBS Detroit reports.
