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Former Warren police officer Matthew Rodriguez sentenced after videotaped beating trial

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Former Warren police officer Matthew Rodriguez sentenced after videotaped beating trial

A former Warren police officer was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison Tuesday for assaulting a suspect. The attack, captured on video, led to charges in federal court amid nationwide attention on civil rights abuses by police officers.

The conviction of Matthew Rodriguez is the culmination of a high-profile criminal case involving a police station beating that was captured on video and seen by millions around the world after the video was released. Rodriguez was sentenced five months after pleading guilty to using excessive force against a teenager who was fingerprinted in the police station booking area in June 2023.

“This defendant swore to protect and serve his community, but instead he abused his power by violently attacking an arrestee,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “This verdict should serve as a reminder to all law enforcement agencies that a badge is not a license to respond to verbal abuse with physical violence and excessive force.”

Prosecutors wanted U.S. District Judge Jonathan Gray to sentence Rodriguez, 49, to two years in a federal prison. The motion included photographs showing 19-year-old Jaquwan Smith’s injuries and disclosed that Rodriguez continued to work for the police after a “shockingly similar” attack on an inmate more than a decade earlier.

“Simply put, millions of people have witnessed what Rodriguez’s blatant conduct here makes clear: He thought his badge was a shield from the laws he was sworn to enforce,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Moran and Justice Department Trial Attorney Alec Ward wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Rodriguez’s attorney, Steve Fishman, asked the judge to spare Rodriguez a prison sentence, arguing that Smith did not suffer serious injuries and noting that Rodriguez, who worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years, including a stint with the Detroit Police Department, had already received a serious sentence: losing his job and being convicted of a federal crime.

Fishman cited national court statistics showing that of 25 people convicted of similar conduct and in a similar situation as Rodriguez, only 13 were sentenced to an average prison term of six months. The average prison term for all 25 people “was zero months,” the attorney wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Since losing his job and pleading guilty, Rodriguez has worked as a truck driver.

“Mr. Rodriguez’s ability to quickly obtain his truck driver’s license demonstrates his ability to contribute to society by keeping his job and paying his taxes,” Fishman wrote.

The alleged attack occurred after Smith was arrested on June 13, 2023, for armed carjacking, resisting arrest and obstructing investigators. Prosecutors dropped the armed carjacking charge last month and Smith pleaded guilty to several felonies, including possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest. His sentencing is scheduled for later this month.

Meanwhile, Smith’s lawyers have filed a $50 million lawsuit asserting her civil rights violations. In addition to Rodriguez, the defendants include two other officers: Corey Martin and Joseph Weaver.

The reasons for the verdict, filed with the court ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, provide a detailed account of the attack on the police station.

It appears Rodriguez and Smith were arguing or verbally abusive, prosecutors wrote, before Rodriguez began hitting Smith. The department’s video surveillance system recorded the attack but no audio of the incident.

“While in the room, (Smith) threatened Rodriguez, telling him he was a boxer who would ‘strip him naked’…” Fishman wrote. “In response, Rodriguez lost his composure, struck (Smith) several times, and otherwise abused him.”

Rodriguez repeatedly struck Smith with his hands and knees, pushed him against the wall, picked up the 130-pound suspect and slammed him to the ground, prosecutors wrote.

Martin, the colleague, stormed into the room and activated his body-worn camera, which recorded video and audio of the attack.

“While (Smith) is on the ground, body-worn camera footage shows Rodriguez repeatedly punching (Smith) and screaming, ‘What now, mother——! Say something else. Say something else!'” prosecutors wrote.

“…Rodriguez grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head into the ground,” they added.

Next, Rodriguez helped Smith to his feet by the hood of his sweatshirt.

“Do me a favor and hit me. Hit me like you said you would,” Rodriguez said.

“Rodriguez then dragged (Smith) by his hood back into the cell and violently pushed him through the door, causing (Smith) to lose his balance and fall to the ground again,” prosecutors wrote.

The charges against Rodriguez were initially filed in 37th District Court in Warren.

“For reasons unknown to the defense, the case was dismissed and charges were brought in federal court instead,” Fishman wrote.

This was not the first time Rodriguez had used inappropriate force while on duty, prosecutors said.

“In a shockingly similar incident in 2012, Rodriguez attacked an inmate whose case he was working on,” prosecutors wrote.

Rodriguez kicked the inmate and lied about it while writing a use-of-force report, the sentencing memo states. Rodriguez claimed the inmate – identified in the court filing by the initials “RS” – tried to hit him, but surveillance camera video contradicted Rodriguez’s statement.

“At no point does the video footage show RS attempting to hit Rodriguez, nor does it show Rodriguez attempting to restrain RS before kicking him,” prosecutors wrote. “Instead, the video shows Rodriguez committing an unprovoked attack.”

According to the government, Rodriguez also used excessive force in 2017 while working as a security guard at a high school in Warren.

“Rodriguez grabbed a student, lifted him by the neck, then pulled him to the ground, causing the student to bang his head on a locker,” prosecutors wrote. “Rodriguez did not report the incident, but was expelled from school due to his behavior.”

Rodriguez has also been charged twice with violent crimes while on duty, including an assault charge in 1996 and a domestic violence charge in 1998. Neither case resulted in a conviction.

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