A white Ohio cop was convicted of assaulting a Black man and violating his civil rights as captured in a viral video, according to Cleveland.com.
Michael Amiott, a Euclid police officer, was found guilty of those two misdemeanor counts by a jury on July 29. His convictions stem from a traffic stop he performed on Richard Hubbard III on August 12, 2017, where he can be seen beating up the driver in video captured by dashboard and cellphone cameras.
Footage shows Hubbard stepping out of his vehicle and turning around as Amiott instructed. Even though Hubbard was following orders, Amiott suddenly starts throwing punches at him. Amiott claimed self-defense for his actions, telling the jury that the Black driver was reaching for his gun and resisting arrest.
“I never touched the officer,” Hubbard testified during the proceedings, per Cleveland.com. “I never even brought up my fists at the officer. I protected my face from the punches, but you can’t see it from this video.”
Reporters say the police department fired Amiott over the violent video. Before Hubbard's traffic stop, the officer reportedly had a slew of excessive-force complaints on his file, including pistol-whipping a driver in 2016 and pepper-spraying two people unprovoked. The newspaper says he got his job back after an arbitrator ruled in his favor back in 2018.
Hubbard was pulled over for driving with a suspended license, but he was cleared of the charges.
Cleveland.com says Amiott is facing 360 maximum days in jail. His sentencing hearing hasn't been scheduled yet.
Amiott will also be placed on non-enforcement, administrative duties until further notice, WKYC reporter Neil Fischer learned from the Euclid Police Department.