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Ex-US police officer to stand trial for beating of black man

William Melendez leaves the courtroom after being arraigned, April 21, 2015, in Inkster, Mich.

A former police officer is set to face trial on assault and misconduct charges after beating an unarmed black man during a traffic stop in the Detroit suburb of Inkster, Michigan.

William Melendez was fired after a video of the incident was released.

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

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.

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

The former officer was held for trial on felony charges of misconduct in office and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder.

“I went to the ground, [and Melendez] started choking me,” Dent testified. “He choked me so hard that I couldn’t breathe. … Then he started, he started beating me in the right side of my head." 

Gregory Rohl, the victim’s attorney, confirmed that the city of Inkster had agreed to settle Dent's lawsuit.

Dent spent three days in a hospital with broken ribs, blood on his brain and other severe injuries.

Police brutality in the United States is rampant following several other cases of officers attacking black people.

The US has been confronted with a series of images of police brutality, where unarmed black men have died after encounters with police.

AGB/AGB


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