Video shows Officer Melendez beating on a motorist./Photo from Freep video
It's fair to say that Inkster cop William Melendez, who is seen in a video beating on a motorist on Jan. 28, has a rich history.
Robert Allen and L.L. Brasier report that Melendez, who has been put on a desk job since the beating incident, pending a probe by the Michigan State Police, has been involved in 12 lawsuits over the years related to his conduct as an officer.
The January incident began when police pulled over Floyd Dent, 57, during a traffic stop. Melendez is seen putting Dent in a chokehold and slugging him in the head 16 times while another officer tries to cuff him and a third one Tasers him three times.
Melendez has a history.
The Freep reports:
William Melendez assaulted Deshawn Acklin in a home in Inkster during a drug investigation, according the 2013 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit. As Acklin lay handcuffed face down on the floor, Melendez "began to choke him and beat him until he was unconscious," and defecated in his pants, according to the suit.
Photos in the court file show Acklin with "serious injuries to his head and face." Acklin was never charged with a crime.
The Acklin case is among 12 federal lawsuits filed against Melendez dating to 1996, alleging, among other things, that he planted evidence, assaulted people in their homes, fabricated police reports, and wrongly arrested people. Some of the suits were dropped, and some settled out of court. In one case, the city of Detroit paid $50,000 to the family of a man shot to death in his kitchen. The suit alleges Melendez — then a Detroit police officer — was involved in the killing.
