Video posted to Facebook by Victor Alarcon this weekend shows California police officers siccing a K9 on a man who had his hands up before an arrest.
But he appears to be angry and walking towards the officer when the dog is released.
Roseville police officers were caught on camera using a K9 to attack 24-year-old Ryan James Heater before they arrested him at an IHOP restaurant.
Police were called after to the restaurant after witnesses say Heater caused a disturbance.
“[He] started walking through the kitchen, in and out, continuously looking for his wife. And so, eventually he found her,” Alarcon, who posted video footage of the arrest, recalled.
“He started punching the swinging door. He started punching it and kicking it, trying to break it.”
One of Alarcon’s friend’s intervened.
“Eventually, one of my friends, who is a Marine, was able to pull him away, take him outside and when he was outside, that’s when the police arrived,” he said.
Police said a K9 officer and his partner “Lance” were the first to arrive on scene and say Heater began threatening the officer and the K9 outside of the restaurant.
But before he’s attacked by the dog, and eventually the officer, the man appears to be holding his hands up, flexing and walking towards the officer.
“The suspect continued to advance, closing the distance and threatening to kill the K9,” Roseville police said in a press release regarding the incident.
“At that point, the Officer released the K9. The suspect was quickly subdued by the K9 and responding Officers.”
Video footage shows the man struggling in pain from the K9 before the officer rushes over, grabs Heater and throws him to the ground.
Three officers hold Heater down, while a fourth handles the K9.
“This K9 and this officer did exactly what they were trained to do,” Roseville police spokesperson Rob Baquera told KCRA.
Alarcon, whose video now has close to 2 million views, said he began recording the video because he was curious to see how the situation would unfold.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen nowadays when police are involved,” he said.
“But I feel like they were able to control the situation very well.”
He commended the officers training for not being too excessive and shooting or tasing Heater.
“They didn’t get real physical Alarcon,” said.
“They only got physical when they pinned him down. But other than that, they didn’t Tase him. They didn’t pull out a weapon. They backed away, gave him a couple minutes to comply. He didn’t, so they just let the dog loose.”
See a shorted, edited video above or the full unedited video below.