Dent Threatened Officers When He Opened His Car Door Analysis

William Melendez, a police officer in Michigan, went to court for a police brutality related crime. Floyd Dent, who is 58, was pulled out of his vehicle and beaten barbarically after running a stop sign. Other officers claimed, “Dent threatened officers when he opened his car door.” Due to the cruel beatings, Dent ended up in the hospital with broken ribs and even blood on his brain. Court Judge Vonda Evans’s handed down a sentence that, “fell way below the 29 to 57 months called for by guidelines.” Melendez is eligible for release after only 13 months. Evans describes Dent’s arrest as “dirty and filthy” and Melendez’s actions as “barbaric and cowardly.” The judge believes that he criticized the man unfairly and just assumed that “no one would

care about a lone black man.” Melendez believes stereotypes were involved immensely. He wrote a statement that was read by a family member in court which stated, “You were going to pull me over regardless of how I was driving. Why? Because I was a black man in a Cadillac.”
Device
● Ethos: “police alleged Dent threatened officers when he opened his car door.” (paragraph 8) - The appeal of ethos is shown by giving credibility to police officers.

Police officers are typically looked up to because they are the ones who protect us, not the ones that hurt us. For this reason, people would most likely believe what they say.

● Logos: “you were so into your bravado you forgot the eye of justice was watching.” (paragraph 2)- The appeal is logos is apparent to the reader because it seems logical that the police officer was trying to intimidate Dent and was letting his ego grow bigger by the second. He wanted to show Dent that he was superior, not enforce the law.

● Pathos: “...Guilty of assault with intent to do great bodily and misconduct of office for beating Floyd Dent, 58.” (paragraph 3) - The appeal of pathos is brought forth by showing that an older man was beaten wrongfully. When we, as humans, see another human being harmed, our hearts are usually wrenching. Not only was a human beaten brutally, but a helpless older man, who was causing no harm, was sent into the hospital for the wrong reason.

Vocabulary
● denigrated (paragraph 6)- criticize unfairly
● bravado (paragraph 2)- a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate
● alleged (paragraph 8)- said without proof
Meaningful Quotes
● “Why?

Because I was a black man in a Cadillac.” (paragraph 13)- Dent feel that he would have been pulled over by the officer regardless of how he was driving. He believes that he was pulled over due to the stereotype of African Americans. The multiple police brutality cases recently helps support his claim.

● “...broken ribs and blood on his brain.” (paragraph 9)- The officers did an extreme amount of damage to this man. They dragged him onto the pavement and continued to punch him. They had to have done this for an extremely long time to have caused so much damage.

Reaction

Police brutality has been a major topic throughout the United States recently. Many claim that officers beat innocent people who also happen to be unarmed. Floyd Dent was a 58-year-old man. This man did not seem to be a real threat to the officers. What could an older man do to deserve such a brutal beating? All we have is hearsay on whether or not Dent actually threatened the officers. Even if the man had threatened them, they could have taken a different approach on taking the man away in cuffs. However, the crucial beatings landed this man in the hospital. Melendez was found guilty but I believe he deserved much more than 13 months. His motive was not to “protect and serve”, like the badge in his chest says. The actions he displayed were dishonorable and ultimately

disgusting.