Prosecutor Opposes Parole for Ex-Cop Convicted in Bloody Beating

In a strongly worded, four-page letter, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy has asked the Michigan Department of Corrections to deny parole to former Inkster police officer William Melendez, who is serving time in the brutal beating of a motorist during a traffic stop.

Worthy wrote the letter in response to an October decision by the Michigan parole board to grant parole to Melendez, 48, pending his completion of a behavioral therapy program, according to media reports.

Melendez was convicted last November of misconduct in office and assault with intent to do great bodily harm in the beating of Floyd Dent during a January 2015 traffic stop. Dash cam video showed Melendez punching Dent in the head 16 times in the internationally sensational case. Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans sentenced Melendez to 13 months to 10 years in prison.

In the Oct. 25 letter, obtained by WDIV-TV and posted on the television station’s website, Worthy used all capital letters for emphasis, saying her office “strongly OPPOSES” parole for Melendez, and called on parole board officials to reverse the decision.

The letter detailed the former Inkster cop’s actions, captured on police dash-cam video. Worthy said Melendez used “excessive force to brutalize Mr. Dent” and that Dent was “unarmed, never fought back, never struck the defendant and was unsuccessful in attempting to protect himself from the defendant’s unrelenting attack.”

Dent was hospitalized for three days after the beating. Two experts who testified at Melendez’s trial said Dent’s brain injuries would cause issues for him in “the foreseeable future” and would likely be “a lifelong ordeal.” Dent reached a nearly $1.4 million settlement with the city of Inkster, and charges of resisting and obstructing and possession of cocaine filed against him were dismissed.

Worthy urged the parole board to take another look at Melendez’s character and to turn a more critical eye toward risk assessments that said he was not at risk to commit a violent act. “Clearly,” Worthy wrote, “the assaultive nature of the offense and a review of the … facts and assault on the victim were not taken into account during this section of the risk assessment.”

In conclusion, Worthy noted that Melendez was convicted and imprisoned “due to his absolute betrayal of the trust and authority placed on him to protect the community and uphold the laws of this state.”

“His actions have had a severe detrimental impact on both the police community and the community at large,” she wrote.

Chris Gautz, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, told the Detroit Free Press that letters like Worthy’s are advisory and “don’t trigger any formal action by the board,” but that letters supporting or opposing a parole decision will “be taken into consideration.”

Melendez’s attorney, James Thomas told the Free Press he would “leave it up to the parole board to make a just decision” regarding his client’s parole.

Melendez has been in custody since his conviction on Nov. 19, 2015. According to the Michigan Department of Corrections website, the earliest date he would be eligible for release is Dec. 15.

The city of Inkster fired Melendez after WDIV-TV aired the video footage from the patrol cruiser dashboard camera in March 2015.

It wasn’t the first time his conduct had come under review.

Before beating Dent until he was unconscious, Melendez had been named in a dozen lawsuits questioning his conduct as a police officer. As a member of the Detroit Police Department, he cost the city more than $1 million in settlements and was the subject of more citizen complaints than any other officer in the city.

By the time a lawsuit involving the 1996 shooting death of an unarmed man, who was shot 11 times in a traffic stop, was settled in 1999, Melendez had been sued four additional times for alleged use of unreasonable force.

Photo via Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office