Ex-Warren police officer sentenced to 1 year, 1 day in jail for violent assault of suspect

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A former police officer learning his punishment Tuesday after being caught on video punching an inmate, slamming him to the ground during a booking.

Matthew Rodriguez was sentenced to a one-year and one-day prison sentence, which is lower than the normal guideline of 18 to 24 months.

The judge said one reason for the lesser sentence is because Rodriguez is no longer a police officer. He doesn’t plan on being one, and he’s started his own trucking business.

Rodriguez didn’t say anything when our FOX 2 cameras caught him outside of federal court.

He also chose not to say anything during his sentencing hearing inside, but his attorney did speak up for him after receiving a one-year, one-day prison sentence.

"No one wants to get a custody sentence, but he took it like a man," said attorney Steve Fishman.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty to charges related to beating up a jail detainee while he was a Warren police officer last June.

The assault was captured on camera and his attorney said it’s been viewed nearly three million times.

Rodriguez lost his job, and later, started his own business.

While the judge credited Rodriguez for being productive post-incident, the judge pointed out a pattern of bad behavior by Rodriquez as an officer.

The string of incidents include the assault of an inmate in 2012 and using excessive force against a high school student in 2017.  The latter came when he worked a school resource officer.

As for the incident that cost Rodriguez his job and his law enforcement career — the judge said: "There’s no justification for brutalizing the victim."

Related:

• FBI Detroit head: Ex-Warren police officer's excessive force on suspect 'breaks my heart'
• Ex-Warren police officer seen assaulting suspect on video, indicted for excessive force

FOX 2: "What do you think he’s learned about himself and this situation?"

"I think that he’s learned a lot," Fishman said. "I can tell you this — I think that, number one, he’s not going to be a police officer, and he probably never should have been a police officer, quite frankly.

"I’ve represented a lot of cops. Most cops are hard-working guys, they leave the department - I've had a ton of not guiltys as you know, they leave the department, they get a job somewhere else, they pay their taxes, (etcetera). I’m sure he’ll do the same when he comes home."

Rodriguez will likely turn himself into prison over the next 45 days. After prison, he'll have a three-year probation sentence.

The victim in this case is still waiting on a court hearing for his own robbery charges.