CALL THEM OFF

Salt Lake Police Suspend K9 Program After Video Emerges of Dog Biting Black Man Kneeling With Hands Up

The shocking video showed a stomach-churning attack by a police dog on a man offering no resistance.

The Salt Lake City Police Department has suspended its K9 program after the release Tuesday of an officer’s gruesome body-camera footage that showed his dog appearing to repeatedly bite a Black man kneeling with his hands up. The department said it was bringing in outside experts to carry out a review of the program while investigations examine the incident that left Jeffrey Ryans, 36, with severe injuries that his lawyers said could lead to amputation. “I am disturbed by what I saw in that video, frustrated by how the situation was handled, and am committed to working to ensure neither happen again,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said Wednesday. Ryans’ lawyers said the man suffered two-inch gashes on each of his legs, adding that he was laid off after he was injured and that multiple surgeries have left the 36-year-old in tens of thousands of dollars of debt. The K9 officer involved in the encounter, Nickolas Pearce, has been placed on administrative, according to NBC News.