A Michigan police officer was charged on Monday (July 10) with a federal civil rights crime after he punched a Black man and slammed his head to the ground.
19-year-old Jaquwan Smith was arrested on June 13, when he encountered now-former officer Matthew Rodriguez at the Warren police station, per ABC News. Video shows the two talking before Rodriguez punched Smith, knocked him to the floor, and slammed his head on the ground.
Other officers at the station intervened and reported the altercation to managers.
“This is not what we do. This is not who we are,” Warren police commissioner William Dwyer said at the time the video was released.
According to a court filing, Smith was unarmed and posed no threat to the officer’s security. “The victim was not in an aggressive stance and his hands were by his side with his thumbs in his pants,” FBI agent Brent Nida said of Smith, per the court filing.
Rodriguez was fired on June 23. He also faces two misdemeanor charges in state court.
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