Inkster Settles 2nd Excessive Force Lawsuit Against 'Robocop'

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The city of Inkster has settled a second excessive force lawsuit against William “Robocop” Melendez, the former police officer who faces criminal charges in a videotaped beating of a motorist last January.

The $100,000 settlement of the new lawsuit comes just days after the city finalized a $1.37 million settlement with Floyd Dent, the motorist in the violent Jan. 28 arrest that was caught on video and sparked national outrage, the Detroit Free Press reports.

In the new case, DeShawn Acklin was handcuffed, choked and beaten until he lost consciousness in July 2011 when he was arrested by Melendez and seven other Inkster police officers, according to federal court documents.

In deposition taken last summer, Aclin said the arrest was so violent, “I thought I was about to die.” In his deposition, Melendez admitted he hit Acklin twice, once in each eye. He claimed he was acting in self-defense.

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

Settlement of the lawsuit will mean more financial pain for Inkster residents when they pay their summer tax bills, City Treasurer Mark Stuhldreher said in an e-mail to the Free Press.

On a home with a market value of $55,400 – the median value of homes in the city, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates – property owners will pay about $191.68 to cover the settlements in both lawsuits.

The Census Bureau also estimates that more than a third – 38 percent – of taxpayers live below the poverty line in Inkster, where the median income in is $26,512.

Melendez, who has been fired by both Inkster and Highland Park, where he moonlighted, is charged with three felonies in the Dent arrest: misconduct in office, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and assault by strangulation.

Melendez will be arraigned on those charges Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court.

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Photo: Wayne County Jail mug shot