Salt Lake City police officers are accused of using excessive force by unleashing a police dog on a black man who was kneeling on the ground with his hands in the air, as seen in bodycam footage of the April arrest published by the Salt Lake Tribune.
Police were called to Jeffrey Ryans after someone heard him arguing with his wife, the Tribune reports: “Body camera footage from the officers show Ryans was in his backyard smoking a cigarette — he says he was about to leave for his job as a train engineer — when the officers shined their lights on him and started yelling.”
Police sought to arrest Ryan because of a restraining order filed against him, likely tied to a domestic violence arrest, the paper says, though details about the circumstances of the arrest are unclear.
Ryans got down on his knees and put his hands in the air when police went ahead and released the dog, ordering it to attack, commending it, “good boy, good boy,” as the dog ripped into Ryans’ leg.
“Ryans has suffered nerve and tendon damage, infections and has difficulty walking. Doctors have not ruled out the possibility he will need to have his leg amputated,” the paper reports. Ryans is in the first stages of filing a lawsuit.
