An Ohio police officer who punched a black man excessively and repeatedly in a violent three-minute assault has been fired.
The decision to dismiss Officer Michael Amiott for the confrontation during a traffic stop which occurred August 12 was announced Friday.
An investigation found he used excessive force, insubordination, unbecoming conduct and other rule violations.
Initially he was suspended for 15 days pending the internal probe then he received an additional 45-day suspension until the decision to dismiss him.
Michael Amiott (L) has been fired for use of excessive force, insubordination, unbecoming conduct and other rule violations since his altercation with Richard Hubbard III (R)
A dash cam video shows Amiott wrestling 25-year-old Richard Hubbard III to the ground within seconds of ordering him to get out his vehicle and face away in a Cleveland suburb.
Hubbard spoke about Amiott’s firing during a press conference on Tuesday saying: ‘Honestly, I was glad the officer got fired so he won’t be able to do this to anyone else.
‘I’m just happy to get him off the streets.’
Hubbard (pictured above) spoke about Amiott’s firing during a press conference on Tuesday saying: ‘Honestly, I was glad the officer got fired so he won’t be able to do this to anyone else
Hubbard (pictured left with his girlfriend Yolimar Tirado Caraballo right) said: ‘I’m still suffering emotionally, from all the trauma, all the pain’
He added: ‘I’m still suffering emotionally, from all the trauma, all the pain,’ according to Cleveland 19.
In the dash cam footage Amiott is seen telling Hubbard to get out of the car and he then drags him away and starts punching him.
The female passenger, who has been identified as Hubbard’s girlfriend Yolimar Tirado Caraballo, then jumps out the vehicle and drops to the floor as she screams at her boyfriend to stop resisting.
‘Bae, stop! Bae, listen to me,’ Tirado Caraballo says repeatedly. ‘Just let them do what they do, bae,’ she continues to say.
Hubbard received substantial injuries to his face after the officer attacked him repeatedly
Amiott (L) asked 25-year-old Hubbard III to get out of the car at a traffic light (pictured here)
A surveillance video shows Amiott wrestling Hubbard (pictured above) within seconds of ordering him to face away in a Cleveland suburb
The officers are heard repeatedly yelling: ‘Stop fighting,’ which is when Hubbard is asked to roll over on his stomach.
Hubbard can be heard asking his girlfriend to record the incident on her phone: ‘Babe record this. Look, they’re punching me,’ he pleads to her.
Hubbard refused to admit that he resisted arrest: ‘When the officer told me to get out of the car, I got out of the car, stepping toward me he said face away, I did not know what that meant at the time but I turned around immediately.
‘When I turned around, I was attacked. I did not resist arrest,’ Hubbard said to reporters.
‘It all happened so fast, it was a blur, but I know I did not touch the officer,’ Hubbard insisted.
According to reports Hubbard was pulled over for driving with a suspended license and driving without using signals.
In the tape the officers are heard repeatedly yelling: ‘Stop fighting,’ to Hubbard (the duo pictured above fighting)
According to reports Hubbard (pictured above) was pulled over for driving with a suspended license and driving without using signals
Hubbard, who was seen in a police photo after the attack with a badly bruised face and later in a neck brace, was charged with misdemeanors including resisting officers, driving on a suspended license and a traffic infraction.
Caraballo was also arrested, however the couple along with their lawyer Chris McNeal are challenging these charges in court.
McNeal hopes these charges will be dismissed due to ‘outrageous police misconduct’.
Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail who announced the decision to fire Amiott said she received other complaints about the officer after his initial suspension which she said called into question Amiott’s suitability as an officer.
Hubbard can be heard asking his girlfriend, Yolimar Tirado Caraballo (R), to record the incident on her phone: ‘Babe record this. Look, they’re punching me,’ he pleads to her
She said in a statement: ‘After a review, I found Amiott to have violated additional departmental rules, including Conduct Unbecoming and Courtesy, calling into serious question his suitability as a Euclid police officer,’ CNN reports.
Although no formal complaints were actually fined Amiott was accused of using excessive force at least two other times this year, reports Cleveland.com.
According to his police file Amiott has been accused before for losing his temper, losing evidence and hitting a suspect with his gun.
The department allowed him to resign in 2014 after he: ‘conducted a traffic stop without probable cause and lied about it.’
His girlfriend (R) says: ‘Bae, stop! Bae, listen to me. Just let them do what they do, bae,’ she continues to say