[ad_1]
Body cam footage of a man being brought down with a K-9
Arizona Republic
Body-camera footage released by the Prescott Valley Police Department on Wednesday a man being mauled by a police K-9 despite appearing to comply with the officers’ demands.
Police initially attempted to stop Alfredo Saldivar for driving erratically at high speeds through Prescott and Prescott Valley. Saldivar ultimately stopped and body-camera footage shows officers then use a K-9 in an attempt to take him into custody.
The officer’s use of that K-9 and whether it was justified is now under investigation.
Footage shows K-9 released on Saldivar without warning
Police said Saldivar was speeding eastbound on State Route 69 in a red Chevrolet truck on May 14 at about 6:32 p.m. before entering Prescott Valley near Stoneridge Drive when officers activated their lights and sirens.
At one point during the chase, a Prescott Valley officer officials say was about to be rammed by Saldivar fired at Saldivar and his truck. Police say Saldivar then sped away before ultimately abandoning his vehicle at a Prescott shopping center parking lot.
Police did not provide any footage of the events leading up to this. The body-camera footage starts with Yavapai County Sheriff’s Deputy Steven Surak getting out of his marked vehicle at the Frontier Village Shopping Center in Prescott after pursuing him through Prescott Valley. He can be seen aiming a handgun at Alfredo Saldivar, who is lying prone on the ground in the parking lot.
“Don’t move, dude,” the Surak tells Saldivar. “Don’t talk. Don’t move.”
Shortly after, a nearby officer can be heard ordering Saldivar to get on his knees, which Saldivar does. Saldivar can be seen putting his hands behind his back when an officer orders him to put his hands up in English and Spanish, which Saldivar also complies with.
Saldivar continues to comply with the officer’s demands, which include raising his shirt and turning around to expose his back to them to show he’s not carrying any weapons while keeping his arms raised.
“Here’s what I want you to do,” an officer can be heard telling Saldivar amid a wailing siren and a barking dog. “Stand up!”
A few seconds pass and a siren turns off as the officer repeats his command for Saldivar to stand up. A Prescott Valley officer releases the K-9. Saldivar raises his right leg and begins to stand as the K-9 appears to bite him on the left side of his back, causing him to scream in pain.
The footage provided to The Arizona Republic does not show an officer warn Saldivar prior to the release of the K-9.
Officers then order Saldivar to get back on the ground, which he does while begging the officers to stop the dog. Officers then order Saldivar to roll onto his belly though the K-9 is still biting Saldivar.
After a few seconds, the K-9 moves its body to the other side of Saldivar’s while still biting down on his torso, allowing Saldivar to roll onto his stomach.
The video shows officers slowly approaching Saldivar as he continues to beg for them to stop the dog’s attack.
“Please stop the dog!” Saldivar repeatedly screams.
An officer can be heard praising the dog in a calming tone, saying “that’s my good boy” when the dog eventually releases from its bite. The bite appears to last about one minute.
Officers handcuff Saldivar and begin removing various items from his pockets as Saldivar repeatedly tells the officers that he can’t breathe. It’s unclear what is obstructing his airway.
The officers eventually turn Saldivar over to inspect his wounds when Saldivar asks the officers why the released the K-9 on him.
“You guys get your payback?” Saldivar asks. “Huh? Why’d you guys get the dog at me? I was already down bro.”
Phoenix police: Records prove officers disproportionately use force against people of color
Saldivar says the officers shot at him seven times and continues questioning why the released the dog on him before saying he plans on suing them. The officers don’t appear to acknowledge any of his statements as they continue to assess his injuries.
The officer then returns to a vehicle and cleans his hands with a disinfectant wipe before talking to another officer who asks him if he’s alright.
“Yes sir,” Surak says. “He was hands up, compliant, pretty much.”
The video ends a few minutes later with Saldivar being treated by emergency responders.
Along with the body-camera footage, Prescott Valley police released a written statement saying an officer released the K-9 on Saldivar because Saldivar hesitated during one of the commands.
“As officers confronted Saldivar and gave him numerous verbal commands to surrender, it initially appeared he was complying, then hesitated,” the department said in a written statement. “Saldivar’s hesitation and the observations made by police led officers to believe that he was going to flee from law enforcement again, which resulted in a Prescott Valley Police K-9 being deployed.”
The statement said Saldivar was eventually taken to Yavapai Regional Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries, although Saldivar refused treatment.
He was later booked into jail on suspicion of endangerment, aggravated assault on law enforcement, criminal damage, unlawful flight, leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest.
The department said the Department of Public Safety has been asked to the incident leading to his arrest.
The Prescott Valley Police Department added that it is conducting an administrative review into the force used against Saldivar. The department did not immediately respond to an inquiry as to whether the officers involved in the shooting and K-9 release are on paid leave
Bite preceded by a high-speed chase
Officials said Saldivar failed to stop and drove erratically through residential streets and highways often over 100 mph while officers stopped traffic at nearby intersections to prevent potential collisions.
Police said Saldivar eventually drove northbound on Lake Valley Road and made a U-turn where he jumped the median to head southbound when he tried to ram his truck into a patrol vehicle.
An officer in the truck’s path shot several times at Saldivar, striking him and the truck, though Saldivar continued driving south before driving west on SR 69 and then Glassford Hill Road where he struck another vehicle causing an elderly woman to be injured and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Saldivar continued driving westbound on SR 69 into Prescott where he abandoned his truck at the Frontier Village Shopping Center and fled on foot.
Prescott Valley police and other law enforcement agencies tracked Saldivar down at the shopping center when the K-9 incident occurred.
Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-breaking/2020/09/12/prescott-valley-police-body-cam-k-9-man-complying-orders/3472864001/
[ad_2]
Source link