DETROIT — Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has brought charges of misconduct in office and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, five and 10-year felonies, respectively, against William Melendez, 46, the fired Inkster police officer accused of repeatedly beating 57-year-old Floyd Dent during a Jan. 28 traffic stop. 

The incident was caught on video, which shows Dent, an auto worker with no criminal record, beaten, tasered and put in a choke hold. He also said the officers planted cocaine; and his attorney, Gregory Rohl, had said portions of the video not made public show the officers planting the drugs.

At a press conference Monday, Worthy said we can’t tolerate those who abuse their authority.

“We cannot turn our heads when the law enforcer becomes the law breaker,” she said.

She also said many people in the region and across the country see police brutality as out of control.

“It eradicates the confidence that’s been built in those communities where good work has done to establish those relationships,” Worthy said.

The Inkster Police Department fired Melendez last week; and the  Highland Park Police Department, where he was employed part time, fired him this week.

Melendez, who had also been with the Detroit Police Department, has been involved in 12 lawsuits since 1996 regarding his conduct, according to reports.

After seeing the video earlier this year, an Inkster judge threw out charges against Dent of assault and resisting arrest. On Monday, Worthy said the cocaine possession charge will also be dismissed. She said the decision was “in the best interest of justice.”