INKSTER, Mich. (AP) - An interim police chief has been named in Inkster, replacing the former chief who resigned after one of her officers was charged in the videotaped beating of a black man during a traffic stop.
The city says Tuesday that Joe Thomas has been hired to take over for Vicki Yost.
Thomas has spent more than 30 years in law enforcement and is a former police chief of Southfield in Oakland County.
Yost stepped down April 22, two days after prosecutors charged officer William Melendez with assault.
Footage from a police dashboard camera showed 57-year-old Floyd Dent being pulled from his car and repeatedly punched in the head. The beating wasn’t publicly known until WDIV-TV aired the video in March.
Melendez has been fired. He has denied any wrongdoing.
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