It was four Tennessee cops against a non-combative Black man last week, tasering him and yanking on his locs, when one of the officers said, “Get the dog out!”
A Clarksville police officer then opened the back door to his patrol car, allowing the dog to maul Darius Chappell for nearly a minute while he was already on the ground.
Chappell, 34, screamed in pain as officers ordered him to “roll over” and “put your hands behind your back” — all while the dog was attacking him.
“Hey, man, get the dog off him, man!” yelled a witness recording from across the street.
“Bro, why the dog still biting him?” the same man said more than 30 seconds later.
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When the Clarksville officer finally pulled the dog off, it bit the officer’s leg.
“He done bit the police officer,” the witness said. “You don’t even know how to train your dog right.”
“He done bit the police in the leg. That’s crazy.”
On Friday, four days after his violent arrest, Chappell was found unresponsive in his cell at the Montgomery County Jail. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly afterward.
Now Chappell’s family and the NAACP are demanding a federal investigation.
“Today is the Fourth of July,” said Gloria Sweet-Love, president of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, during a press conference Saturday.
“I ask you, what freedoms can we celebrate when a traffic stop can result in a vicious attack by a canine and death in a jail cell from those injuries four days later?”
Chappell was facing charges of evading arrest, assault on law enforcement officers, and resisting arrest stemming from the incident when he died.
Watch the video below.
Details Are Scarce
The incident took place Monday, June 29, after Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies confronted Chappell inside a Burger King over an alleged parole violation. Authorities said he fled on foot.
The sheriff’s office has not provided details about the alleged violation, but records from the Tennessee Department of Correction show Chappell was on parole stemming from a 2020 arrest for possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell. His parole was set to end Dec. 2, 2027.
Online court records from the Montgomery County court system also show Chappell was arrested June 22 by Clarksville police for domestic assault after a woman filed an order of protection against him.
Those records show he was released from the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond and was not due back in court until July 6 on the domestic assault charge.
That raises an unanswered question: Why was he released on bond if he had allegedly violated parole?
Had he remained in custody, he might still be alive today.
But the central question remains: Why did a Clarksville police officer deploy a dog while three Montgomery County deputies were already restraining him?
Neither the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Clarksville Police Department, nor the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – which is investigating the death – has provided much information.
The names of the deputies and cop involved have not been released, but the Clarksville officer who released the dog has been placed on paid administrative leave.
‘I Just Want Their Badge’
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Chappell was transported to a hospital for evaluation after the dog attack and was cleared by medical staff.
Deputies then transported him to the Montgomery County Jail with what they described as a “superficial wound,” according to The Tennessean.
But Chappell’s family says they repeatedly raised concerns about his condition, which they say were ignored.
“In the days leading up to his passing, our family desperately sought help,” his sister, Latesha, wrote on a GoFundMe page raising money for funeral expenses.
“We raised concerns about his condition, contacted attorneys, reached out to community organizations, and advocated for him because we were deeply worried about his health and well-being.”
Jessica Ponds, Chappell’s ex-wife, said his injuries were far more serious than described.
“We were all calling the jail trying to get medical treatment for him because it was so bad to the point where Darius couldn’t even show up for court,” Ponds told local media.
“He had open wounds… He was never taken to the hospital. I believe he may have gotten some Tylenol – Tylenol, of all things, for open wounds.”
“First there were two of them; then there were four of them – and you’re telling me four of y’all couldn’t handle one man?” she continued.
Ponds said she will remember Chappell’s sense of humor most.
“That’s the memory I am going to cherish and miss the most – how funny he was, because he could make anybody laugh,” she said.
But she said the video of the dog attack left her sickened.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking. It’s gut-wrenching for me, and it made me so nauseous,” she said.
“I don’t even want their apology. I just want their badge.”
