The City of Detroit has paid out over $1 million for four lawsuits related to one officer, Bill “Robocop” Melendez in 2003.
On January 28, 2015, Melendez was charged with three felonies for choking and punching an elderly black grandfather sixteen times, after attempting to “plant” cocaine on the man. Melendez was finally convicted of the crimes on November 5, 2015.
How do law enforcements officials and courts allow this to continue? Since the four lawsuits in 2003, Melendez racked up additional eight suits for racial profiling, extreme brutality and even wrongful death. Why does it take a dozen brutality charges for someone like Melendez to finally lose his badge after at least twelve years of aggressive history?