Man beaten by Inkster police officers aces polygraph test

Lie detector test meant to show if Floyd Dent was lying about not threatening officers before arrest

INKSTER, Mich. – Floyd Dent was hooked up to a lie detector machine by one of the most highly-regarded examiners in the state of Michigan and asked direct questions about threatening police officers in Inkster.

Police said when Dent opened his car door after being pulled over he yelled at officers that he was going to kill them. The officers testified that is the reason Dent was dragged from the car and put in a choke hold.

However, Dent says he never said such a thing to the officers. He went to retired police officer and polygraph expert Neil Meyers to prove it. Dent said he knows he doesn't have to take a polygraph test.

"I want to take one just to let everybody know, the public and everything, that I'm honest and telling the truth," he said.

Before the arrest was over, Dent was kicked, shocked with a Taser three times and punched in the head 16 times. The officers' microphones were either turned off or not working, so there is no recording of the alleged threat from Dent.

He allowed himself to be hooked up to take a lie detector test:

Question: The night you were pulled over, did you tell the officer, "I will kill you"?
Dent: No.

Question: Did you verbally threaten those officers in any way?
Dent: No.

Question: Is the officer correct when he states you told him you would kill him?
Dent: No.

Question: At the time of your traffic stop, did you have cocaine in your vehicle?
Dent: No.

Question: Is the officer correct when he states he found cocaine in your vehicle?
Dent: No.

Question: Are you lying when you say there was no cocaine in your vehicle?
Dent: No.

Dent passed the lie detector test.

"He never said those (threatening) words," said Dent's attorney, Greg Rohl. "Not even anything close to it. In fact he said nothing at all of a threatening nature."

The results may not be admissible in court, but Dent says he wants his family and the entire world to know he was telling the truth and the officers are lying.

"When I heard their attorney saying all those words, I mean I just broke out crying because I knew they were lying," he said.

A district judge looked at the beating video and threw out charges of resisting arrest and assault. Dent hopes these test results and more video from that night will convince a circuit court judge to throw out the cocaine possession charges.

Dent said he respects the police and could not believe an officer would do this and lie about it. He hopes passing a lie detector test will help the rest of the community understand why he is fighting the charges and refusing to consider any plea deals.

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