Detroit cop convicted of assaulting woman in hospital

A Detroit Police corporal charged with punching a mentally unstable woman in a Detroit hospital last summer was found guilty Tuesday of misdemeanor assault and battery in the case.

The conviction of Dewayne Jones followed a two-day trial last week for the incident involving the 29-year-old woman at Detroit Receiving Hospital. Witnesses said Jones repeatedly punched the woman after she spit at him and bit him while Jones and other officers were trying to calm the woman down.

Jurors had to decide whether Jones used unnecessary and excessive force or was following training protocol during the Aug. 1 incident. Jones is to be sentenced at 9 a.m. May 1 and could receive up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.

On Monday, the jury of three men and three women told Judge Kenneth King of 36th District Court they could not reach a verdict. But the judge sent them back into deliberations. 

King told jurors he would not declare a hung jury unless the panel had deliberated two to three days.

Jones' attorney said during her opening statements last week that Jones was protecting himself and others from the woman, who is believed to be mentally ill. The woman did not testify during the trial.

If found guilty, Jones faces up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.

A hospital worker who testified last week said Jones "lost it" after the woman spit at him and began punching her. 

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Joshua Holman told jurors that the woman was not a threat to Jones.

Felony charges were dismissed against Jones in January by 36th District Judge Cylenthia Miller, who said the woman was "out of control" and said Jones was doing what he could to control her.

Jones has remained on the police force on restricted duty. The Detroit Police Department had no comment Tuesday on his job status after his conviction.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

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