St. Paul police's use of K-9s was dramatically restricted after an innocent bystander was attacked by a loose dog last week.
Mayor Melvin Carter and police Chief Todd Axtell issued a joint statement Monday after news broke that a man was attacked by a police dog on the city's East Side, the latest in a string of controversial dog bites. Police also released graphic body camera footage of the incident that showed the dog ignoring more than a dozen orders to stop the attack as the victim, Glenn L. Slaughter, writhed on the ground and cried out in pain.
"Last week's incident involving a St. Paul police canine is very disturbing, especially viewed in the context of other events that have occurred over the past two years," Carter said.
Slaughter, 33, was leaving for work on July 6 when he was bitten after the dog's collar "snapped," said Anne Shomshor, who is engaged to Slaughter's brother. Slaughter could not be reached for comment.
"Any one person could have been walking out of their house at any given time, and if [police] don't have control of the situations or of their dogs, it's truly worrisome," she said.
The chaotic, approximately minute-long footage released by police shows officer Mark Ross getting out of his squad with K-9 Suttree, who can be heard shaking before suddenly breaking free of its "prong collar." Suttree runs to Slaughter, who is lying on the street next to his car after being ordered to the ground by police.
"No!" and "Out!" Ross yells several times.
"No, no, no, no, don't!" Slaughter cries out as he is attacked. "Oh [expletive]!"