A Warren police officer is under fire after being charged with two misdemeanors after a video surfaced online of him punching a man who was under arrest in the city jail’s fingerprinting area.
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. Following the incident Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said Rodriguez is on unpaid leave and has an employment hearing with him on Friday.
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“This is not what we do. This is not who we are,” Dwyer said before showing video of the assault that occurred on 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. 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.
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.
“This is exactly what the public expects,” Lucido added, saying it “took courage” for the two officers to report what happened.