A Detroit-area police officer whose bloody beating of a motorist was captured on a dashcam video has been sentenced to at least 13 months in prison for assault.

William Melendez was an Inkster police officer a year ago when he stopped Floyd Dent, who was pulled from his car after rolling through a stop sign and punched in the head 16 times.

In a statement a family member read in court today, 58-year-old Dent said Melendez stopped him because he was a "black man in a Cadillac".

Melendez told a judge he's "truly sorry".

The maximum punishment is 10 years in prison. It is up to the parole board when to release Melendez.

Melendez was fired after WDIV-TV aired the video last March. Inkster agreed to pay $1.4 million to Dent.

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