News   /   Human Rights

US police officer fired after beating black motorist

Floyd Dent listens to speakers at a rally in his support outside the Inkster Police Department Wednesday, April 1, 2015.

A white police officer in the US state of Michigan who was videotaped viciously beating an African-American motorist during a traffic stop has been fired.

The police department in Inkster, a suburb of Detroit, fired officer William Melendez on Wednesday, the Detroit police labor union representative Al Lewis said.

The January arrest and brutal beating of 57-year-old Floyd Dent by white police officers has drawn widespread protests.

The video of the incident, which was recorded by a police car’s dashboard camera, shows police officers pulled over Dent at the side of a road at night.

When he opened the car’s door, the cops dragged him out of the vehicle and one of them placed him in a chokehold. The video shows two officers throwing Dent to the ground and Melendez repeatedly punching him in the head.

Police say Dent refused to stop and had cocaine in his car but Dent and his lawyer says police planted the drugs.

The retired auto worker spent three days in a hospital with broken ribs, blood on his brain and other severe injuries.

Police treatment of African-Americans and other minorities has become a major issue in the United States over the past year.

Several videos recording police brutality have been released recently. A cell phone video was released last week showing an officer in North Charleston, South Carolina firing multiple times at an African-American man as he ran away, sparking outrage around the country.

A recent poll has found a significant distrust of police in the United States, where many Americans believe police unfairly target minorities and often lie for their own interests.

AHT/AGB


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
US
Press TV News Roku