Bodycam video shows police officers ordering a police canine to attack an unarmed man in Sheffield, Alabama, on June 17, 2021, in front of his home, according to his attorney.
The video was released on May 4 and shows several Sheffield Police Department Officers and Colbert County Sheriff’s Office deputies talking to 53-year-old Marvin Long as he stood on the front porch of his house.
Why the officers wanted to arrest Long is unclear, but the encounter began with Long standing in the street in front of his house observing another arrest, WAFF reports. The full video has not been released.
Related: ‘We Understand Concerns’: Alabama Police Department Investigating Video of Officer Stomping on Young Black Man’s Leg During Arrest
A second bodycam shows the officers following Long to his porch at some point after he’d been in the street watching the arrest. Long is heard telling the police officers, “Go, man,” as they approached the house saying, “Is this your property?”
After Long opened the front door to go inside, several of the officers grabbed Long and wrestled him to the ground. One of the officers yelled, “You think we’re f—n’ stupid?” The officers appeared to be searching Long as he yelled, “Help! Help!”
The K9 is seen biting Long’s leg as one of the officers yelled, “Bite him! Bite him!”
He was arrested and charged with obstruction and resisting arrest. The obstruction charge was later dropped. Long is being represented by attorneys Roderick Van Daniel and Harry Daniels, who said the police had no right to sic the K9 on Long.
“This is a crime against humanity,” Daniels told WAFF News. “This is something that should never happen anywhere.”
Daniels also noted that the police officers seemed to enjoy letting the K9 attack Long.
“These gang of officers didn’t have the right to even walk onto Mr. Long’s property, much less attack him with a police dog,” Daniels said in…
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