MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A former Miami Gardens police officer was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 days in jail, 18 months of probation, and 250 hours of community service.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez sentenced Jordy Yanes Martel after a jury convicted him in June of battery and trespassing.
“This is a case of abuse of authority,” the judge said in court.
The charges stemmed from his actions during the arrest of Safiya Satchell in front of Tootsie’s Cabaret, at 150 NW 183 St., which a witness filmed, records show.
“From his knee choking the life out of me, fabricating reports and lying about me to being tased multiple times in the abdomen while being pregnant, I want him to suffer as much as he intended for me to suffer that night,” Satchell said in court during sentencing.
Attorney Jonathan Jordan, who was representing Satchell, said Yanes Martel did not apologize to his client or explain why he chose violence.
“I believe I could have done a lot of things better, but again, we have seconds to act and sometimes we don’t make the best decisions when we have seconds to act,” Yanes Martel said.
As part of his sentence, he also has to serve 100 hours speaking at police academies about what not to do when serving as a police officer. Yanes Martel has two weeks to surrender to corrections.
“I take full responsibility for my actions and what happened that night,” Yanes Martel said in court. “It not only affected Miss Satchel; it affected me as well.”