Court vacates conviction of Euclid police officer Michael Amiott, sentenced in 2017 assault
CLEVELAND (WJW) — An appellate court has vacated the conviction and sentence of a Euclid police officer who was punished last year on charges of assault and violation of civil rights, which stemmed from a 2017 arrest.
Appellate judges ruled the court that tried Michael Amiott’s charges took too long to bring the case to trial — a violation of his constitutional right to a speedy trial.
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A jury in July 2022 found Amiott guilty of the charges, the FOX 8 I-Team reported. He was sentenced in March 2023 to 90 days in jail, but that sentence was suspended. He immediately challenged his convictions and sentence.
On Thursday, April 25, the Cuyahoga County’s Eighth District Appellate Court decided to vacate, since his trial court took longer than 90 days after his arrest to bring the case to trial, as required under the Sixth and Fourteenth amendments. Though defendants may waive their right to a speedy trial, Amiott did not.
Amiott’s speedy trial clock started on Aug. 6, 2019, but he didn’t face trial until almost three years later, according to the court’s unanimous decision. Their finding accounts for pandemic-related delays and other obstacles for which that clock would have been stopped.
The appeals court also ordered Amiott to recover court costs from the city.
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Amiott was seen on camera punching and kicking a man during an August 2017 traffic stop. Amiott later testified the man, Richard Hubbard III, was resisting arrest, the I-Team reported in March.
Hubbard said he felt he had been stopped due to his race and also testified that he was not fighting with the officer.
Amiott was fired shortly after the incident, but reinstated through arbitration.
Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer told the I-Team on Friday that Amiott remains on the police force and hasn’t had any other disciplinary issues.
Amiott was unavailable for comment on Friday.
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