Warren police officer charged with punching, assaulting suspect inside city jail
A Warren police officer has been charged with two misdemeanors after authorities said he punched a man under arrest in the city jail's fingerprinting area, slammed his head against the floor and pushed him into a cell.
The incident was captured on video.
Matthew James Rodriguez, 48, of Southgate, who has been with the department for more than 14 years, was arraigned Tuesday on assault/assault and battery, a 93-day misdemeanor, and public officer-willful neglect of duty, a one-year misdemeanor, according to authorities and court records.
Rodriguez was released on a $5,000 personal bond after arraignment in Warren's 37th District Court and has a pretrial set for July 13, according to police and court records. Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said Rodriguez is on unpaid leave and has an employment hearing with him on Friday.
Suspect was being booked on carjacking charges
"This is not what we do. This is not who we are," Dwyer said before showing video of the assault that occurred at about 6:08 a.m. June 13 at the city jail, adding that police officers must protect the rights of the public, including those accused of committing a crime.
Dwyer said a 19-year-old Detroit man was being booked on suspected felony carjacking and weapons charges when the incident occurred. He said the man did not request medical attention after the incident, but police sent him to the hospital to be evaluated.
Dwyer declined to identify by name the man who was attacked, saying that "based on the investigation, we're not charging the victim." District court records identify him as Jaquwan Smith.
Two officers intervened in the incident, which happened in less than one minute, then reported it to supervisors about 7:15 a.m. that day. Police proactively launched an internal investigation and placed Rodriguez on leave less than two hours after supervisors were informed, Dwyer said.
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It 'took courage' for officers to report their peer, Lucido says
Dwyer said no complaints have been lodged in the matter, including from the man who was assaulted.
Dwyer declined to discuss Rodriguez's disciplinary record, citing the employment hearing this week. He said Rodriguez has worked for the department since 2008, and he was not sure if Rodriguez worked for another department prior to that. Dwyer said Rodriguez had been assigned to the jail for several months, on and off, an assignment delegated by seniority.
Of the officers who intervened and reported the incident to supervisors, Dwyer said: "What these officers did is by no means easy. It was the right thing to do. ... This case does show that the system and our policies do work.
"If it were not for the reporting and review of this incident, we may have never known about it."
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said police officers "have a duty to report. They have a duty to intervene."
"Both (of) the officers took that step and intervened and diffused the situation in the booking room. That's the kind of work that we want out of our officers and that's the kind of work that we expect," he said.
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"This is exactly what the public expects," Lucido added, saying it "took courage" for the two officers to report what happened.
Dwyer said the man was arrested just before 5 a.m. June 13, and the booking officer took custody of him a little over an hour later.
In video released Tuesday, the officer — identified as Rodriguez — is seated at a desk with a computer. The man in custody stands nearby, not handcuffed. Rodriguez gets up and walks over to the man. It appears words are exchanged, but there is no audio.
Rodriguez strikes the man with his right hand, pushes him against a wall and takes him to the floor.
Within seconds, two other officers are seen entering the room. Rodriguez punches the man and slams his head against the floor, per the video footage.
Rodriguez picks up the man, apparently by his hair or clothing, holds him and eventually walks him to a cell, pushing or even throwing him inside. The video shows the man falling onto the floor, and Rodriguez shutting the cell door and walking away.
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Peter Sudnick, at attorney who represented Rodriguez in court for arraignment purposes only, declined to comment on the criminal case.
Sudnick said he is labor counsel for the Warren Police Officers Association, the officers' union. He said that a criminal attorney will be assigned to the case, and that Rodriguez has been advised by his counsel not to make any statements.
Officer charged violated policy by not wearing body camera
Messages were left with the union Tuesday.
Dwyer said the footage is "sad and upsetting" for members of the department and is not what the officers stand for. He called the incident a "disgrace" and "unprofessional" and said it tarnishes the reputation of law enforcement.
He said Rodriguez was not wearing a body camera, which is a policy violation. The other two officers were wearing body cameras, he said. Dwyer said one of the other officers reported saying "that's enough, that's enough" and tried to deescalate the situation.
He said Rodriguez's actions were not justified and were not consistent with the department's training, policy and standard of professionalism. The other two officers, however, "did exactly what they are trained and required to do," he said.
"They saw something out of line," Dwyer said. "Immediately, they intervened and worked to de-escalate the situation and ultimately reported the misconduct to the supervisor."
Dwyer said these types of incidents are "incredibly rare" and "taken very seriously by myself and my administration. ... Let me be clear that excessive use of force by Warren police officers is not and will not be tolerated.
"Nobody, not even a police officer on duty, is above the law," he said.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren police officer charged with punching suspect in city jail
