Bodycam video shows Utah cops order dog to attack black man on his knees

Newly released police bodycam video shows cops in Salt Lake City order a police dog to maul a black man in his own backyard.

The disturbing footage, obtained by the Salt Lake City Tribune, shows Jeffery Ryans, 36, approached by police officers while he’s smoking in his yard before heading off to his job as a train engineer on April 24.

“Get on the ground! Get on the ground or you’re going to get bit,” one cop is heard yelling while the K9 can be heard barking.

A startled Ryans then gets on his knees and raises his hands — but the cop still releases the dog, Tuco, giving him the “hit” order to attack.

“I’m on the ground, I’m on the ground,” Ryans yells as the dog latches onto his leg. “Why are you biting me? I’m on the ground. Stop. Ow.”

“What the f–k,” he’s heard saying. “Why you guys doing this? Why? Why? What the f–k did I do?”

The canine officer is heard telling Tuco “good boy” while Ryans continues to scream.

The officers then handcuff Ryans while he is on the ground face down.

Police said they responded to the home because Ryans’ wife had filed a protective order in December, and court records show he was hit with a domestic violence charge around that time, although details were not available, the Tribune reported.

But Ryans is planning to file a lawsuit against the Salt Lake City Police Department, filing a “notice of claim” — the first step in suing.

“I felt like a chew toy,” he told the Tribune. “I didn’t know why this was happening to me. That’s what was going through my mind. Why?”

His lawyers claim Ryans suffered nerve and tendon damage from the attack, and contracted an infection that may still require his leg to be amputated.

They claim the officers, who are white, ordered the attack because Ryans is black.

“What’s the difference between the two of us that could make this happen to him but I couldn’t imagine happening to me?” his attorney, Gabriel White, who is white, told the newspaper. “No one’s ever shown up at my house.”

Police are conducting an internal affairs investigation into the incident.

via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/12/bodycam-video-shows-cops-order-dog-to-attack-black-man-on-his-knees/

Photo Credit: nypost.com