A former Kent County Deputy charged with assaulting a disabled person during a road rage incident last year was found not guilty Monday.
The charges stem from an incident that took place last August.
According to the KCSO, former Deputy Marcelo Aranda had been charged with assault and battery after allegedly pulling 35-year-old Tyler Lueken, who is paralyzed from the waist down, from his car and repeatedly punching him at a rest stop in Ingham County near Lansing.
The following audio is taken from a cell phone video of the incident, and listener discretion is advised.
In the video, Aranda, who was off duty at the time, accused Lueken of smelling like alcohol and almost killing others while recklessly driving.
Lueken was charged with a DUI, while Aranda was fired from the KCSO.
In a trial that lasted two days in Ingham County, prosecutors argued that Aranda had abused his power and was operating as a law enforcement officer outside of his jurisdiction.
His defense said that Lueken, the driver, had punched the deputy first before the cell phone video began, and the footage did not tell the whole story.
Aranda was found not guilty Monday and cleared of all charges. WGVU reached out to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office for comment, and to see if Aranda would be reinstated as a Deputy. At the time of this report, there has not been a response.
