An Illinois teen is recovering at home after he was bitten by a Granite City police dog on Monday during a traffic stop. When the dog latched onto the teen’s leg and would not let go, officers tased the animal in order to get the K-9 to let him go.
Devondrea Williams told KMOV after he was bitten by the animal, “I ain’t never screamed like that a day in my life.”
At around 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Williams was in a vehicle with his cousin when they were pulled over by police. Williams did not know why they were being stopped and said officers didn’t give a reason. Police said they pulled the vehicle over because an individual had been involved with a fight. Williams’ cousin, who was the driving, corroborated the claim about his involvement in a fight. Williams was in the back seat of the truck.
According to Williams, police asked for his information and asked him to get out of the truck. Before Williams could do much he said an officer grabbed his arm and several other officers pushed him against the truck.
Williams explained, “and then I see the dog out of the corner of my eye and then the dog bites me.” The teen said he was bitten by the dog four or five times.
Regeana Canada, who lives close to where the incident took place, saw police lights and filmed the encounter on her phone. She said the dog was latched onto Williams for eight or nine minutes. Repeated commands for the dog to release Williams can be heard on the recording of the incident.
Ultimately, the dog had to be tased but only several minutes after latching onto Williams, who suffered injuries to his leg and hand. “They had to tase the dog,” asked the confused young man. “If you have a K9, shouldn’t the dog listen to you?”
In the end, no one was arrested during the stop.
Granite City Police Capt. Gary Brooks provided an account of what transpired to KMOV in a statement, “Officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle with some of the individuals involved in the incident. At this time, officers attempted to continue to gather facts to ascertain what exactly had taken place,” the statement said.
“During the traffic stop, an individual obstructed the investigation and resisted arrest. They were taken into custody with the assistance of a police K-9. This investigation is still ongoing and as a result, no further information can be given at this time regarding this matter.”
Canada, however, refuted the captain’s claims of resistance. “No, he did not resist arrest at all,” said Canada.
