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Ex-Inkster officer gets 13 months to 10 years for beating motorist

William Melendez in court.
Sarah Cwiek
/
Michigan Radio

DETROIT (AP) - A Detroit-area police officer whose beating of a motorist was captured on dashcam video has been sentenced to at least 13 months in prison for assault.

   William Melendez was an Inkster police officer a year ago when he stopped Floyd Dent, who was pulled from his car after rolling through a stop sign and punched in the head 16 times.

   In a statement a family member read in court Tuesday, the 58-year-old Dent says Melendez stopped him because he was a "black man in a Cadillac."

   Melendez told a judge he's "truly sorry."

   The maximum punishment is 10 years in prison. It's up to the parole board when to release Melendez.

   Melendez was fired after WDIV-TV aired the video last March. Inkster agreed to pay $1.4 million to Dent