Video reveals Missouri cops allowing their police dog to maul a black man who 'threatened to kill officers during arrest'
Missouri cops allowed a police dog to maul a black man they said had threatened to kill officers while being arrested earlier this week.
Video shot by a passerby in the St. Louis suburb of Woodson Terrace shows the three white officers standing by while the dog repeatedly bites the man.
The footage sparked outrage online and led the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board to compare it to pre-civil rights days in Alabama.
Woodson Terrace Police said in a Facebook post that the man, whose name has not been made public, had threatened to kill officers.
The post said the man had appeared to be on drugs and had tried to walk away from officers into oncoming traffic.
The St. Louis County prosecutor's office is investigating the incident which happened on Monday morning.
Missouri cops allowed a police dog to maul a black man they said had threatened to kill officers while being arrested earlier this week
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement that his office 'is aware of this video, and we will make a thorough review of the incident.' He declined to comment further about the case.
Officers in Woodson Terrace, a city of about 4,000 people near St. Louis Lambert International Airport, were advised at 7:18am that a man had broken into a business.
After allegedly threatening officers and attempting to walk away from them into traffic, the man resisted attempts to arrest him, officers said, prompting a warning that the police dog would be used if he failed to cooperate.
When the man continued to resist, causing minor injuries to one officer, the dog was deployed, the department said.
The cellphone footage shows the dog biting the man's foot as he yells out in pain. The dog's handler holds it by a leash but allows the biting to continue for about 30 seconds.
After the officer pulls the dog off, the man appears to take a step to run but stumbles, and the dog lunges at him again, this time biting one of the man's legs for another 30 seconds until the officer stops it.
Officers then handcuff the man, who appears barely able to walk as he is led to a squad car.
The footage sparked outrage online and led the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial board to compare it to pre-civil rights days in Alabama
The police department said in its Facebook post that an ambulance was sent to the scene but the man refused medical treatment.
However, it says he later complained about his injuries and was treated at a hospital. Police didn't release details about the severity of his injuries.
Police said a substance believed to be methamphetamine was found on the man. He has not yet been charged and was released from police custody, police said.
Woodson Terrace's mayor didn't respond to an Associated Press email message seeking further information. Police did not respond to phone messages.
It is not clear whether the officers were wearing body cameras or if any such cameras were on and recording at the time of the incident.
The St. Louis County prosecutor's office is investigating the incident which happened on Monday morning
The Post-Dispatch's editorial board wrote that use of the dog was 'just like Birmingham's infamous public safety chief, Bull Connor, did in the 1960s to deter Blacks from marching for equal rights.'
'This incident bears all the hallmarks of cops deciding to issue their personal form of street justice — inflicting pain and punishment on the spot instead of waiting for the courts to do their job,' the board wrote.
Police canine expert Michael Gould described the video as 'problematic,' telling local media that investigators should 'look into it very carefully, why other levels of force would not have been utilized'.
'The fact of the matter is, it's a human reflex response. You can't have an 80-pound dog puncturing your skin and be compliant. It's virtually impossible.'
Gould acknowledged that there may be 'underlying factors' he was unaware of but called the footage 'disturbing'.
'Based on what I said and saw it looked like the subject was under control,' he told KSDK.
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September 24, 2021
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