Bodycam video shows police officers ordering a police canine to attack an unarmed man in Sheffield, Alabama, on June 17, 2021, in front of his home, according to his attorney.
The video was released on May 4 and shows several Sheffield Police Department Officers and Colbert County Sheriff’s Office deputies talking to 53-year-old Marvin Long as he stood on the front porch of his house.
Why the officers wanted to arrest Long is unclear, but the encounter began with Long standing in the street in front of his house observing another arrest, WAFF reports. The full video has not been released.
A second bodycam shows the officers following Long to his porch at some point after he’d been in the street watching the arrest. Long is heard telling the police officers, “Go, man,” as they approached the house saying, “Is this your property?”
After Long opened the front door to go inside, several of the officers grabbed Long and wrestled him to the ground. One of the officers yelled, “You think we’re f—n’ stupid?” The officers appeared to be searching Long as he yelled, “Help! Help!”
The K9 is seen biting Long’s leg as one of the officers yelled, “Bite him! Bite him!”
He was arrested and charged with obstruction and resisting arrest. The obstruction charge was later dropped. Long is being represented by attorneys Roderick Van Daniel and Harry Daniels, who said the police had no right to sic the K9 on Long.
“This is a crime against humanity,” Daniels told WAFF News. “This is something that should never happen anywhere.”
Daniels also noted that the police officers seemed to enjoy letting the K9 attack Long.
“These gang of officers didn’t have the right to even walk onto Mr. Long’s property, much less attack him with a police dog,” Daniels said in a statement. “The video is clear. These men aren’t protecting the public or enforcing the law. They’re attacking an unarmed Black man for no reason, and they’re enjoying it.”
Van Daniel said that the arrest was unlawful because the officers did not have probable cause or a warrant.
“How can you charge a man with Resisting Arrest when there wasn’t a lawful arrest in the first place?” Van Daniel added in the statement. “For two years, they’ve done everything they can to keep this video from coming out. Now it’s out, and the people can see the truth with their own eyes.”
Lt. Max Dotson and Sgt. Nick Risner were two of the arresting officers.
Risner later died while on duty in an October 2021 shootout with a murder suspect. Dotson also was shot in the incident but survived. Dotson was arrested in March for threatening and assaulting a man with a gun while he was off-duty and charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, third-degree assault and harassment.
Daniels noted that Risner would still be alive had he been removed from the force after Long’s arrest.
“This was sadistic in all measures of the word,” Daniels said. “There was nothing good out of this and those officers to be allowed to remain on the force. That’s… basically saying we condone these officers.”
Daniels said the video was being released now in an attempt to seek justice.
“This is not a matter of seeking some monetary damages. This is about seeking justice and ensuring that you [won’t] be the next person that’s attacked or possibly killed by law enforcement,” said Daniels. “If we don’t band together and support one another when our constitutional rights have been violated and we don’t check those who are responsible for protecting this earth then nobody’s rights will be protected.”
Long’s trial on the resisting arrest charge begins on June 6.
