Floyd Dent reacts after officer who beat him released from prison

(WJBK) - The former Inkster police officer convicted of brutally beating a motorist during a traffic stop is out of prison.

The video, from Jan. 28, 2015, dominated the news for months, shows former Inkster police officer William Melendez doing the beating.

He was convicted and sentenced to 13 months to 10 years.  On Tuesday, he was released from prison. 

The victim in the video is Floyd Dent.

FOX 2: "Do you think you can forgive officer Melendez?

"I already forgave him," Dent said. "For what he did."

He may have forgiven Melendez, but, for 59 year old Floyd Dent, the memories of that night still linger. 

"I think about what happened every day," Dent said. "It affects me a whole lot. Every time I see a flashing police light, I freak out."

Because of the incident, Dent was hospitalized for three days for a head injury, fractured ribs and facial wounds.  Was justice done?

"I'm happy knowing this," attorney Gregory Rohl said. "I know that he'll never carry a badge and violate people's trust again."

Michigan Department of Corrections said that Melendez served about 14 months in protective custody. He had no problems in prison.  He completed a class called "thinking for a change" and he'll be on parole for at least 12 months.

"But for that video to come loose and was sent to me, perhaps inadvertently, Floyd would be the one in jail," Rohl said. "And Melendez would be out there beating someone else up."

Floyd Dent did receive a settlement from the city of Inkster for $1.4 million. But that has not stopped his pain."

"I just think about the things going on in the world," Dent said. "The police shooting innocent victims and I think that could've happened to me that night. I was very lucky."