Police Dog Continues Attacking Black Man That Was Already Subdued And Handcuffed

A video showing a black man in handcuffs being attacked by a police dog in San Diego last week has gone viral, another example of the heavy-handed violent confrontations that frequently occur between black folk and the police.

Police responded to reports of Karond Cheatum acting erratically on a San Diego street July 9. He was said to be screaming in the streets, jumping on cars and violently acting out, NBC San Diego reports. 

By the time the camera is rolling on July 9 incident, Cheatum can be seen handcuffed and lying face-down on the ground. A K-9 has its mouth viciously around his arm, refusing to let go despite Cheatum already being subdued in cuffs. Two other officers are also holding down his legs as he can be heard shouting “Uncomfortable! Uncomfortable!”

It is not clear whether the officer with the dog knows how to control it. His attempts to get the dog to release Cheatum are ignored. A bystander can be heard asking, “Why can’t you call your dog off? Why can’t you call him off?” 

He added: “You have no control of your dog whatsoever?” 

Another bystander said, “You guys got three guys versus one. You can’t get the dog off?” 

The San Diego Police Department said the dog was deployed to get Cheatum on the ground as he was not responding to directives. 

“The dog did exactly what he was trained to do. It’s a bite and hold technique which minimizes the amount of injury that can be inflicted,” said SDPD Lt. Scott Wahl. As to why the dog held on for so long, the dogs also are not trained to release on a verbal command — instead an officer has to apply pressure to release the dog’s jaw. 

Folks on social media were not buying it though.