A Salt Lake City officer was hit with felony charges after allegedly ordering his police dog to bite a black man who was already on his knees with his hands up during an arrest.
Salt Lake County District Sim Gill charged Officer Nickolas Pearce with second-degree felony aggravated assault on Wednesday, a crime that carries a punishment of up to 15 years in prison. Gill said that Pearce used “unlawful force” during his arrest of Jeffery Ryans, a 36-year-old black man, on April 24.
“[Ryans] wasn’t resisting arrest,” Gill said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “He certainly wasn’t posing an imminent threat of violence or harm to anyone, and he certainly wasn’t concealed. He was fenced in an area and was being compliant.”
Body camera footage from the arrest showed that Pearce had ordered a police dog to bite and hold Ryans after Ryans had already surrendered and was on his knees with his hands in the air. Pearce was suspended from the department after the footage became public.
Ryans said the dog bit and tore his leg. Peace called the dog a “good boy” as he clenched on Ryan’s leg. The police had been called to the home after a neighbor reported that they could hear Ryans arguing with his wife. Ryans’s wife had a protective order against him, but he said he thought the order had been lifted. He was charged with violating the protective order on the night of the incident.
Ryans required multiple surgeries because of tendon damage and infections caused by the bite. He said that he “felt like a chew toy” during the arrest. He has filed a civil lawsuit against the department.
In a statement posted to Twitter, the Salt Lake City Police Department acknowledged the charges filed against Pearce and that the Civilian Review Board had found that Pearce violated the department’s policies. The department said that its internal investigation was still ongoing.
“If Internal Affairs finds that Officer Pearce committed a policy violation, the Chief’s office will follow the disciplinary process required under state and federal law. This can take some time, but we will carry this out as expediently as possible to bring a prompt conclusion to this matter,” the statement read.
Press Release: Statement Regarding Charges Being Filed Against SLCPD K-9 Officer pic.twitter.com/h4iitZxbX0
— SLC Police Dept. (@slcpd) September 16, 2020
Steven Winters, the president of the Salt Lake City Police Association, said that he is standing by Pearce despite the charges. He noted that Pearce had received no disciplinary warnings in his 14 years with the department. Winters said he believes the charges brought against Pearce were politically motivated.
“We believe his actions that evening were justified and in the bounds of the law,” Winters said. “Officer Pearce is an excellent officer and is without question a good dog handler. We’re hopeful that the criminal justice system will [run] its course and take care of this manner.”
Salt Lake City suspended the use of police dogs following the incident between Pearce and Ryans.
