WARREN, Mich. — A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a younger Black man within the face and slammed his head to the bottom pleaded responsible Monday to a federal civil rights violation.
Matthew Rodriguez acknowledged utilizing “unreasonable pressure” towards the 19-year-old man whereas processing him within the fingerprint room on the Warren jail in June. He additionally admitted that he made false statements in regards to the incident.
Jaquwan Smith “was not bodily resisting arrest or trying to flee,” Rodriguez’ plea settlement states.
Rodriguez was fired by the Warren police division, which launched video of the incident in the summertime. William Dwyer, who was police commissioner on the time, mentioned, “This isn’t what we do.”
Rodriguez’s “actions on this case have been stunning and flagrantly violate the requirements of conduct we count on of all sworn legislation enforcement officers,” U.S. Legal professional Daybreak Ison mentioned Monday.
He’ll return to court docket for his sentence Aug. 20. The utmost sentence is 10 years in jail.
