Detroit cop gets new trial in beating of mentally ill woman

Oralandar Brand-Williams, The Detroit News
·4 min read

Apr. 12—Detroit Police Department Sgt. Dewayne Jones, convicted of beating a mentally ill homeless woman at a Detroit hospital, will get a new trial after a judge ruled Monday he did not get effective legal counsel during a key part of his defense.

"The defense attorney at trial failed to act in a manner consistent with what a reasonably competent attorney would do at a very critical point in the defendant's jury trial as it related to the correct jury instructions to be presented to the jury," Judge Lynise Bryant of 36th District Court said in granting a motion by Jones' defense attorney's for a new trial.

The judge set a pretrial hearing date for Sept. 20, saying she didn't expect a new trial date to be set this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Bryant said the court was recently downgraded back to Phase I of reopening to most in-person hearings because of the recent surge in new coronavirus cases.

Jones, who was promoted to sergeant last year, was convicted and sentenced to probation in May 2019 for repeatedly punching the woman inside Detroit Receiving Hospital in August 2018.

In a video that went viral, the 20-year police veteran is seen hitting the 29-year-old woman with his fists Aug. 1, 2018, in the hospital's emergency department.

In sentencing Jones, Judge Kenneth King of 36th District Court said he looked "like a rogue officer gone wild."

A sister of the woman, Ashley Smith, said Monday she was outraged by Bryant's decision to grant Jones a new trial.

"It is ridiculous that the city of Detroit stood behind police brutality again," Smith told The News in a phone call from Texas, where she lives. "Everywhere else, cities are trying to improve relations with their communities, especially in light of the George Floyd case ... not promote (officers accused of wrongdoing) ... not be behind them. Yet the city continues to protect him."

Smith added: "This is gross negligence. It's disrespectful. We saw him beating my sister on video."

Jones' appeal cited jury instructions regarding the "reasonableness" of force. Jones contends jurors should have been given instructions geared toward incidents involving police officers.

In his motion, Jones also cited his trial attorney for not calling an expert in the use of force during the trial.

During his trial for misdemeanor assault and battery charges, Jones' attorney Pamella Szydlak argued the veteran officer had followed department protocol for dealing with a combative subject who poses a public threat. The homeless woman was described as being out-of-control, violent and combative.

Szydlak argued that her client has been a "dedicated honest, sincere and outstanding" police officer.

"He has dedicated his entire adult life to criminal justice," she said in court during the trial. "Still, our position is that Corporal Jones acted (within the guidelines) of his training."

Besides serving probation, Jones was ordered to attend anger management classes, perform 15 days of community service and pay a $500 fine and about $300 in court costs and fees.

The officer could have been sentenced to 93 days in jail.

Witnesses testified during the trial that Jones repeatedly punched the woman after she spit at him and bit him while Jones and other officers were trying to calm her down in the early evening of Aug. 1.

Community activists criticized Jones' bid for a new trial.

"He should be in prison, but was promoted instead," Detroit activist Scotty Boman said in a statement Monday. "Meanwhile his victim ... is being held captive indefinitely without having a chance to fight for her freedom."

"It is up to us to be (the woman's) voice and call out a system that promotes violent criminals, and imprisons their victims," said Boman, a member of the group Detroit Residents Advancing Citizen Oversight.

Boman and others are calling on Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to "reintroduce those charges given the large amount of video evidence that surfaced, and the fact that Jones still had a badge and a gun while on probation."

Some Detroit activists have contended that Jones should not have been let back on the police force and say they believe the appeal was a legal ploy to preserve his retirement benefits.

"So what if he wants to protect his pension?" Jones' appellate attorney Margaret Raben told The News last year, saying he was entitled to an appeal. She added there would have been a "different verdict" if jurors had been "educated" on the standards governing a police officer's use of force.

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