A white Ohio police officer who was caught on viral video brutally beating a black man during a traffic stop had gotten several complaints about his behavior during his three years on the force.
The Associated Press reports that the officer, identified as Michael Amiott, had received four letters of reprimand and one formal complaint as an officer in Euclid, Ohio, but had never been disciplined beyond the written reprimands.
Amiott, the report noted, had been cited for everything from pistol-whipping a driver with a handgun (like, seriously?), mishandling evidence, losing his temper in front of his commanding officer and being involved in two crashes in police vehicles.
Last week, locals in Euclid stepped forward to voice their concerns about Amiott, who joined the force in 2014 after resigning from his previous position in Mentor, Ohio, and his past behavior. It is worth noting that Amiott was allowed to resign from the Mentor force, instead of being fired, in April 2014, after he was caught lying to officers about why he had stopped a man for a suspended license.
The report states that the Euclid police chief at the time, who is now retired, knew about Amiott’s forced resignation when he hired him on the Euclid team five months later.
Is anyone here truly surprised about previous reports of violence or any past complaints? This is the crooked shit that plagues police departments and spoils all the “apples” in the bunch. This is why there is often no love lost between communities and police officers.
Amiott has only been suspended without pay for 15 days by Euclid after being caught on video, captured by a witness, as well as on police cameras, violently punching Richard Hubbard III during an arrest.
Officers say they stopped Hubbard, 25, after he “rolled through” an intersection in his vehicle and a search of the vehicle showed that the owner had a suspended license.
Video shows that at some point during the encounter, Hubbard gets out of his car. The officer tells Hubbard to face away from him and barely gives him enough time to follow the command before the cop grabs Hubbard and pins him to the side of the vehicle before slamming him to the ground.
The officer, now identified as Amiott, then unleashes a flurry of blows on Hubbard, punching him multiple times.
According to AP, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said that his office has spoken with the U.S. attorney’s office and is currently investigating Amiott.
Read more at the New York Post.