Two Inkster police officers have been suspended without pay for their alleged involvement in the beating of a black motorist during a traffic stop in January.
Union representative Al Lewis said Officer Chuck Randazzo was suspended for 15 days for excessive use of force and bringing the department disrepute. He said Sgt. Shawn Kritzer was suspended for 30 days for not providing immediate medical attention for Floyd Dent.
According to Lewis, the city of Inkster violated the officers' due process rights. "They just decided to suspend them regardless of the evidence," he said. "So we'll be fighting it."
"There were two investigations done by the department that as far as we know cleared both officers," said Lewis.
Inkster officials did not return calls seeking comment.
A third Inkster officer, William Melendez, was fired last month. Wayne County prosecutors charged Melendez with assault and mistreatment of a prisoner, both felonies, after a police dash cam video showed him pulling the 57-year-old Dent from his car and repeatedly punching him in the head as he lay on the ground. The beating wasn't publicly known until WDIV-TV aired the video in March. Melendez denies any wrongdoing.
Earlier this week, Inkster appointed an interim police chief, Joe Thomas, to replace Vicki Yost, who resigned shortly after Melendez was charged. Thomas is a former police chief of Southfield, and has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience.
