Top Judiciary Dem asks for probe of violent Inkster arrest

Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, urged the attorney general on Friday to conduct an investigation into the violent arrest of an unarmed man in his district earlier this year.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Conyers said the Jan. 28 arrest of Floyd Dent, who is African-American and previously had no criminal history, in Inkster, Mich., merited a federal probe.

Video of the incident shows police dragging Dent from his car and subsequently beating him and using a Taser on him before arresting him. Police said they originally stopped him for running a stop sign, but then later found crack cocaine in his car. 

{mosads}Dent, who pleaded not guilty to the drug charges this week, claims that the police planted the drugs in his car at the time of arrest and are using the drugs as a cover-up. 

Dent said he spent two days in the hospital to recover from injuries caused by the incident.

Michigan state police has launched a probe into the case. But Conyers said the Justice Department should also be involved.

“While I appreciate that these local and state investigations are ongoing, I also believe that given the history of concerns involving the officers involved in the arrest as well as the Inkster Police Department, direct federal review is warranted in this case,” Conyers wrote.

Dent’s arrest comes amid other instances of alleged police brutality against unarmed African-American men in Ferguson, Mo., Staten Island, N.Y. and Cleveland, Ohio.