Mich. officer sentenced to year in prison for assault of arrestee

By Ed White
Associated Press

DETROIT — A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a man in the face and slammed his head to the ground was sentenced Tuesday to a year in federal prison for a civil rights violation.

Trending

K-9

Ore. K-9 killed during last shift before retirement

K-9 Kylo was killed during an attempt to arrest a suspect, who also died during the incident; he had served with the Portland Police Bureau since 2020

September 25, 2026 10:02 AM

Pursuit

Video: Carjacker skids across lanes, flees in reverse as multiple PITs destroy vehicle during pursuit

The driver, who had escaped a South Florida hospital after an involuntary mental health hold, kept fleeing in spite of multiple PIT maneuvers before being nabbed by state troopers

September 25, 2026 11:17 AM

LAPD

Jury awards $11M in lawsuit filed by family of man who ran at LAPD officers with knife before OIS

The suit claimed the officers “should have recognized” that the man was in the midst of a crisis and that he did not pose a real threat to officers because of his small stature

September 25, 2026 01:40 PM

Command Staff - Chiefs / Sheriffs

Fla. sheriff calls fire department split a ‘betrayal’ after county vote

Sheriff Gregory Tony criticized Broward County’s decision to remove Fire Rescue from his agency after 2028, as years of disputes over funding and oversight come to a head

September 25, 2026 12:18 PM

Matthew Rodriguez, a police officer for 30 years, has acknowledged using unreasonable force against the 19-year-old man while processing him at the Warren jail following an arrest in June 2023. He apparently was provoked by a verbal insult.

Rodriguez was fired by the Warren police department, which released video of the incident.

Grey sentenced him to a year and a day in prison. A 366-day sentence triggers credit for good behavior in the federal system, which means Rodriguez will likely spend less than a year in custody.

“Physical abuse of detainees is completely unacceptable and undermines public confidence in the integrity of law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said.

Grey noted that Rodriguez asked the man to apologize for the insult after hitting him.

“Whether you have power or not, humanity must be respected,” the judge said.