Decisions On Charges Coming In 2 Police Beatings Caught On Video
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - It will be announced Monday whether charges will be brought against police officers involved in the videotaped beatings of two men in metro Detroit.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she'll hold an 11 a.m. news conference to announce charging decisions on assault allegations in the separate cases of 57-year-old Floyd Dent and 51-year-old Andrew Jackson.
Officer Inkster Police Officer William Melendez, whose firing was confirmed on Friday, is being investigated after Dent's arrest after a Jan. 28 traffic spot drew widespread protests. Melendez is white and Dent is black. [VIDEO: Inkster Police Dashcam Violent Arrest Of Floyd Dent]
Dash cam video of the incident shows two officers throwing Dent to the ground and Melendez repeatedly punching him in the head during his arrest. Police say Dent refused to stop and had cocaine in the car; although Dent claims police planted the cocaine.
A District Court judge earlier dismissed charges of fleeing police and resisting arrest after viewing police dash-cam video – which went viral online. He returns to court April 29 on a drug charge.
Also Monday, Worthy plans to announce if she'll file charges in the separate January beating of Jackson, a black man, by white Grosse Pointe Park and Highland Park officers.
Police assigned to an auto-theft unit arrested Jackson in Detroit after he allegedly carjacked a woman and her grandchildren. Video recorded by a local resident shows Jackson being kicked and beaten by officers while they taunt him, shouting expletives. [VIDEO HERE >>Note: Extremely Strong Language]
Videos of both arrests went viral online.
Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.
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