A police dog in St. Paul, Minnesota bit the wrong man which ended up causing serious injuries to the victim. The dog reportedly broke free from its leash.
Glenn Slaughter, 33, was leaving for work on July 6, 2018. And at the same time officers with the St. Paul Police Department were responding to a 911 call about a black male walking in the street with a gun.
Slaugther was right outside of his home walking to his vehicle. Police saw Slaugther who is a black man and told him to get on the ground, knowing that he wasn’t the suspect with the gun.
In an attempt to obey police orders, Slaugther got on the ground, but seconds later the police body cam video starts and shows a St. Paul officer with a police dog on a leash.
It was then that the pronged leash collar fell off of the dog, and that was when the dog went running at the innocent Slaugther, KARE 11 News reports. Officer Mark Ross, the dog’s handler shouted, “No!!”, and went running after the dog, but the dog had already sank its sharp teeth into Slaugther’s human skin.
The dog bit down hard and yanked at Slaugther’s arm, hand, and torso several times. Officer Ross commanded the dog to let go several times but the dog ignored the commands and continued to bite. Other cops arrived and aggressively instructed Slaugther to stop pulling away, which happens to be a natural reaction when a dog is biting into your skin.
The attack lasted for over 30 seconds even though police say it lasted only 20 seconds.
It was not until Officer Ross finally thought to activate the electric shock on the dog’s second collar that the dog let go of Slaugther. Interestingly enough the electric shock collar was attached to the dog the entire time, all Officer Ross had to do was push a button to activate it.
Slaugthers now has no feeling in his right hand, and his arm is swollen, along with bite wounds and gashes on his arm, torso, and armpit. Slaugther is talking with lawyers now to discuss his options.
The dog was retired from the K-9 unit and Ross was reassigned following the attack.
Additionally a 2016 St. Paul Police Department dog attack on a man mistaken for a suspect ended recently in a $2 million settlement.
St. Paul police have a long history with their police dogs biting the wrong people.
St. Paul city officials said that police dogs will only be deployed when officers or citizens face “a clear and immediate danger.” The restrictions are expected to increase oversight of the unit.
St. Paul police have enacted several changes after the July 2018 incident: A full-time commander will now be assigned to the K-9 unit, the dogs’ recall and release skills will be tested twice a month indefinitely, K-9 teams that don’t meet training standards will be removed from patrol, handlers will have to inspect all equipment on camera before their shifts, and dogs will be given shorter leashes.
