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Salt Lake police suspend K9 program after video shows dog biting Black man with his hands up - NBC News
Aug 13, 2020 1 min, 12 secs

The Salt Lake City Police Department suspended its K9 program on Wednesday, one day after the release of an officer’s body-camera footage that showed his dog appearing to repeatedly bite a Black man kneeling on the ground with his hands up.

In a statement, the department said it was enlisting outside experts to conduct a thorough review of the program’s policies and procedures while various investigations examine the April 24 incident that left Jeffrey Ryans, 36, with severe injuries that his lawyers said may require amputation.

In disturbing body-camera footage first published by the Salt Lake City Tribune and obtained by NBC News, the officers can be seen talking with Ryans, who’s standing in the home's backyard.

The Salt Lake Police Department declined a request for an interview with Pearce, and the Salt Lake Police Association did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday night.

In a notice of claim dated June 29 that was filed with the Salt Lake City Recorder’s Office — the first step in filing a lawsuit — lawyers for Ryans said Pearce’s dog, Tuco, bit him several times for roughly one minute.

On each side of his leg, Ryans suffered two-inch gashes, one of his lawyers, Gabriel White said.

In an interview Wednesday, Gabriel White and another lawyer, Daniel Garner, said Ryans’ wife had secured the order last year amid “disagreements.” The arguments weren’t violent, they said, though she told Ryans to move out in December.

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