Utah Police let dog chew surrendering man's face and buttocks

WEST JORDAN, Utah — A man has filed a lawsuit against the West Jordan Police Department that alleges his rights were violated when a police K9 was dispatched and subsequently injured him, but police said they stand behind their actions.

“I didn’t dare to move. I put my hands up and froze. If I would have blinked, I thought I was going to get shot,” said Lee Hoogveldt, recalling an incident which played out in his home on March 24, 2013.

His attorney, Robert Sykes, filed a civil rights lawsuit in Federal Court on Thursday, and he provided the media with copies of body camera video showing Hoogveldt being attacked by a police dog.

“At the time and place this force was used, there was no justification at all to sic a police dog on somebody,” Sykes said.

The video shows Hoogveldt seated on a sofa after police enter his home. After numerous commands from officers, he raises his hands in the air seconds before a dog named “Pyro” lunges at his face, bites, and holds on for about 15 seconds.

Hoogveldt is then pulled into a nearby room by another officer. The video shows large amounts of blood covering his face. Seconds later, Hoogveldt is face down, and as officers work to get him handcuffed, the dog bites him in the buttocks.

http://fox13now.com/2015/04/30/man-sues-west-jordan-police-over-injuries-suffered-in-k9-encounter/