The authorities in Salt Lake City suspended the use of police dogs in arrests after one bit a Black man who was on one knee with his hands in the air during an incident in April, the mayor said on Wednesday.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall of Salt Lake City said that the use of police dogs “to engage with suspects” would be suspended until officials could review city policies and practices.
Ms. Mendenhall said that a police officer involved was also suspended from duty pending an investigation into the incident. The police did not name the officer.
The announcements came a day after The Salt Lake Tribune published an account of what happened, including police body camera footage that showed an officer handling a police dog as it bit a Black man, identified by the police as Jeffery Ryans, 36, on the evening of April 24.
“We will conduct a thorough review of the breakdown in communication to ensure that it does not happen again,” Ms. Mendenhall said in a statement. “I am disturbed by what I saw in that video, frustrated by how the situation was handled, and am committed to working to ensure neither happen again.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the Salt Lake City Police Department said it had placed the officer on administrative leave after the department’s leaders became aware of the incident a day earlier. The department said it was conducting an internal investigation, although no complaint had been filed about an excessive use of force.
The Salt Lake County district attorney was also reviewing the case, according to the Police Department.
In the video, a male officer can be seen shining a flashlight and shouting, “Get on the ground or you’re going to get bit,” as officers approach Mr. Ryans in the backyard of a house.
Another officer can be heard saying, “Get on the ground,” and Mr. Ryans kneels on one leg with his hands up next to a white fence.
One officer can be heard making an apparent command to the dog, which lunges at Mr. Ryans.
“I’m on the ground. Why are you biting me?” Mr. Ryans asks, before yelling in pain and pleading, “Stop!”
One officer can be heard saying, “Good boy” repeatedly as Mr. Ryans yells and is handcuffed on the ground.
The police did not immediately respond to questions about what preceded the confrontation or why officers were at the house. Lawyers for Mr. Ryans could not immediately be reached for comment.
His lawyers told The Tribune that Mr. Ryans had suffered nerve and tendon damage and infections, and has difficulty walking.
The police said they were aware of Mr. Ryans’s intention to file a lawsuit.
Mr. Ryans told The Tribune that he wanted to speak out because of months of protests, in the city and around the country, against police violence and racism since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May.
“People need to know Black lives matter,” Mr. Ryans said. “Everybody matters, but you can’t just treat people differently because of their religion or their skin color.”
Last month, Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah declared a state of emergency in response to protests in Salt Lake City, which followed the authorities’ decision that the fatal police shooting of a 22-year-old man in May was justified. The Salt Lake County district attorney, Sim Gill, announced in July that there would be no criminal charges against the two officers who shot the man, Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, on May 23.
Azi Paybarah contributed reporting.
"use" - Google News
August 13, 2020 at 10:48PM
https://ift.tt/3iEmALj
Salt Lake City Suspends Use of Police Dogs After Black Man Is Bitten - The New York Times
"use" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2P05tHQ
https://ift.tt/2YCP29R
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Salt Lake City Suspends Use of Police Dogs After Black Man Is Bitten - The New York Times"
Post a Comment