$1.38M cop beating settlement will cost Inkster taxpayers

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.

It will be forced on residents in a city where 38% of its residents live below the poverty level and the median household income is $26,512, the census bureau estimates.

A consent judgment was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court on Friday, but it may take more than a year for Dent and his attorneys to fully collect the money.

Stuhldreher told the Free Press Monday he estimates 70% will be paid by the end of next February and it will be totally paid by the end of June 2016.

"If an entity cannot pay the judgment, the party can put it on the next available tax roll," Stuhldreher said. "What it functionally becomes is a tax, and it's collected in the same manner as any other property tax, per the General Property Tax Act."

Inkster must pay an initial installment of at least $75,000 by July 10, "with the balance paid in increments as they are collected," according to the consent judgment.

Mills have been levied in Inkster four other times since 2013, Stuhldreher said.

"This is the highest, clearly," he said, adding the next highest was to cover a $220,000 settlement and the city levied 1.03 mills.

Inkster City Manager Richard Marsh Jr. referred a message to the police department. Inkster Mayor Hilliard L. Hampton II and attorneys for the city did not return messages Monday afternoon.

One of Dent's attorneys, Gregory Rohl, has said the city doesn't have all the money to pay upfront and part of the negotiations were to fund the money over time with a guarantee it will be paid.

Dent testified last week he was beat on his head and choked so hard that he couldn't breathe during the Jan. 28 traffic stop, which was recorded on patrol car video and can be seen at freep.com.

William Melendez, the ex-Inkster officer accused of assaulting Dent, has been charged with three felonies: misconduct in office, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and assault by strangulation. He was fired from the Inkster police force after the video became public. The city's police chief also resigned in the wake of the incident becoming public.

James Thomas, an attorney for Melendez, has said "an important issue in this case was whether or not officer Melendez was justified at the time that he engaged Mr. Dent."

Melendez is scheduled to appear in Wayne County Circuit Court to be arraigned on June 10.

At an Inkster City Council meeting on Monday night, residents expressed their frustration in interviews.

"I think it's just horrible," said resident Sandra Studvent. "Taxes are high enough. Why should we pay for something we didn't do?"

Jessie Shelby, also of Inkster, felt that the town's residents should have been consulted first.

"We should not be taking the burden," Shelby said. "That's not our problem."

But Akindele Akinyemi, another resident, was just glad the settlement was that low.

"I feel like it could have been worse," he said. "I'm just glad it's over. I'm not upset, but I just feel like we can move on, and grow the city."

Daniel Bethencourt contributed reporting. Contact Elisha Anderson: eanderson@freepress.com or 313-222-5144. Staff writer John Wisely contributed to this report.