Detroit-area officer sentenced to prison for assaulting man after his arrest

Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a young Black man in the face and slammed his head to the ground has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for a civil rights violation. 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 in 2023. He apparently was provoked by a verbal insult. Rodriguez was fired by the Warren police department, and video of the incident was publicly released. Rodriguez did not speak in court at sentencing Tuesday.