Settlement for Floyd Dent costs two police officers their jobs, but the citizens will be paying for quite some time.
Earlier this year, Floyd Dent was
brutally beaten by Inskster, Michigan police after they suspected him of buying drugs. He had not. By all accounts, Mr. Dent has been an upstanding citizen, never a hint of trouble in his life, and worked for 37 years at the Ford Motor Company.
One of the officers involved, Bill "Robocop" Menendez, was fired and is currently facing three felony charges over the brutal beating. All charges against Floyd Dent were dropped and he quickly received a $1.4 million settlement with the city of Inkster, where the average annual income is $26,512 and nearly 40% of residents live below the poverty line. And now those very Inkster residents are the ones stuck with the bill:
Inkster property owners will soon face a one-time tax hit to cover a settlement reached between the city and a man beaten by a police officer during a traffic stop.
City Treasurer Mark Stuhldreher said Inkster will levy 6.45 mills on summer tax bills to pay Floyd Dent $1,377,500.
That means property owners will shell out about $178.67 on a home with a market value of $55,400, the median value of a home in Inkster, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Needless to say, residents are pissed:
"I think it's just horrible," said resident Sandra Studvent. "Taxes are high enough. Why should we pay for something we didn't do?"