Judge Vonda Evans hits the nail squarely on the head when she sentenced former Inkster police officer William Menendez to serve a minimum sentence of 13 months in jail. Menendez was was convicted of beating an African American motorist during a traffic stop last year.

In her address to Menendez before she read his sentence, Evans acknowledged just how difficult it is to be a police officer.

"Being a police officer in a major city with very little funding is damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

Her Honor also noted that police officers in many communities have endured numerous cuts in compensation, saying that officers' salaries can be commensurate with mall security guards.

"While many have said, 'When they accepted the job, they accepted everything that cam along with it, and they can handle it or leave.' In the great words of a man that I truly respect and honor, 'Slaves had jobs too.'"

Judge Evans used Flint as example of how government no longer spends money on preventative measures, and no longer has the funds necessary to adequately prepare police officers.

"It's amazing how poor cities like Flint can find millions of dollars to attempt to reverse a situation that $100 a day could and would have prevented."

Although the video below is rather lengthy, clocking in at over :21 minutes, it's a worthwhile watch, in my opinion. Please note, the language gets offensive, and may not be suitable for all audiences, as Judge Evans quotes officer Menendez in his use of a racial slur.

 

 

More From Cars 108