Another Black man brutally assaulted by police
Floyd Dent, a 57 year old Black man was pulled over by 2 White Inkster Michigan State Police officers. One of the police officers approached the car with his gun drawn. As the video shows, Floyd Dent opened the car door and was dragged out of the car by the cops.
Officer William Melendez placed Floyd Dent into a choke hold and started beating him in the head. Another officer used a stun gun three times on Floyd Dent.
How did this all begin? The officers claimed that they pulled over Dent for a minor traffic violation. They claimed he tried to get away even though the video shows otherwise. Dent said he knew he did not do anything wrong so did not immediately believe the flashing lights were for him. When he realized the cops were following him, he stopped.
Officer Melendez claims that Dent bit him. Dent denied ever doing that. The officer never got treatment for the supposed bite. According to ClickOn Detroit,
Dent was not armed, but was driving on a suspended license. Police said they found a bag of crack cocaine under the passenger’s seat, but Dent said it was planted.
Dent, who retired from Ford Motor Co. after 37 years, has no criminal record. Dent said a blood test revealed he didn’t have any drugs in his system.
“I don’t have to sell drugs. I don’t sell drugs,” Dent said.
One of the officers from the video was with the Detroit Police Department in 2003 and was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for planting evidence and falsifying reports. However, a jury found the officer not guilty.
The judge threw out most of the charges against Dent. He still faces possession charges.
A judge looked at the video and dismissed multiple charges, saying there was no evidence that Dent was fleeing police, resisting police or that Dent was assaulted by any police officers.
Dent is still facing possession of cocaine charges. He was offered a plea deal that included probation and expunging his record after six months, but he turned it down. He said he won’t plead guilty to something he didn’t do.
Assaults on Black men by police officers are becoming epidemic. Just last week UVA student Martese Johnson was assaulted by Virginia officers. There can be no doubt that there is an inherent disregard for the humanity of Black men by many police officers. If this does not change in the near term a backlash on police is all but certain.