Police Brutality Trial Continues in Detroit

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A Dearborn Heights police officer won’t testify at the trial of a former Inkster police officer accused of excessive force in the beating of a suspect last January because he would invoke the Fifth Amendment, a judge said Wednesday.

The trial of William “Robocop” Melendez, who was captured on video punching Floyd Dent in the head 16 times, resumed Wednesday before Judge Vonda Evans in Wayne County Circuit Court, where he is being tried on charges of misconduct in office, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and strangulation, a 10-year felony.

Melendez, who was fired earlier this year in the case the sparked outrage across the country, and other officers involved in the arrest insist the Dent was resisting them, a claim Dent has refuted. The charge against Dent, 58, who was hospitalized for three days after the beating, were dismissed, and he has settled his lawsuit against the city of Inkster for $1.4 million.

Several other police officers have testified at the trial, including Melendez’s former former boss, ex Inkster chief Vicki Yost, who said she was “uncomfortable” with the video.

“The video is hard to watch,“ Yost testified under cross examination. “Anyone would be foolish to say otherwise.”

Yost testified that she didn’t see the video until WDIV-TV aired it March, and that she never talked to Dent about the beating because he didn’t file a complaint.

In Wednesday’s testimony, several officers took the stand before the trial adjourned for the day. George Hunter, a crime reporter for The Detroit News, live tweeted the testimony. View his Twitter feed here.

More on this Topic

• ‘Robocop,’ Accused of Severely Beating Black Man in Traffic Stop, Has Notorious History
• ‘Robocop,’ Fired Over Brutal Arrest Video, Moonlights for Nearby Department
• Prosecutor Announces Decision on ‘Robocop’: Watch
• Robocop’s Boss Steps Down as Heat Continues in Police Brutality Probe
• Man Pummeled in ‘Robocop’ Arrest Settles for $1.4M
• Inkster Imposes Tax to Pay Police Brutality Settlement
• Inkster Settles Another Lawsuit Against ‘Robocop’