Detroit-area officer charged with federal civil rights crime after punching Black man

[James48]

Source: Associated Press

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a young Black man in the face and slammed his head to the ground was charged Monday with a federal civil rights crime.

A criminal complaint against Matthew Rodriguez was unsealed in federal court ahead of an afternoon news conference by U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.

Jaquwan Smith, 19, was being processed at the Warren police station on June 13 after he was arrested on a warrant for multiple felonies.

Video shows Rodriguez exchanging words with Smith before the officer punched him, knocked him to the floor and slammed his head on the ground.

(Caution- brutal video of police officer beating a black man in custody.)

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/excessive-force-michigan-officer-charged-2d63e47bc92db7c03c128daf01351730?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&mibextid=Zxz2cZ#ljxhi4dsvxrgwer8u6c

---

Officer fired, charged with assault, plus federal civil rights violations.

[kimbutgar]

1. Pos police officers like that have no business being in law enforcement.

These bullies need to be weeded out of law enforcement.

As a side note when I was in high school I was in a junior cadet police program for my city. I never wanted to date any of the guys in the program a lot of them were bullies.

[Meadowoak]

2. I actually used to know Matt Rodriguez, he was always kinda laid back

And easy going. This really surprises me, I've never seen this side of him.

[multigraincracker]

3. Big guy sucker punched

a man half his size.

[Fredfon]

4. "This is not what we do. This is not who we are," William Dwyer, the police commissioner in Warren,

“This is not what we do. This is not who we are,” William Dwyer, the police commissioner in Warren, said
Your actions prove otherwise.

[FuzzyRabbit]

5. Whenever a white police officer

is arrested for hitting or shooting a black man, he probably becomes very confused. After all, historically in the US, it has been the job of the police to harass, beat up, punish, and even shoot black men. For decades they were not held accountable for doing this as part of their job.

So now, occasionally one of them is charged with a crime for doing what they had thought was their job. Very confusing. What has changed that now it is a crime to beat up a black man?

[C Moon]

6. That's fucking insane!