Tuesday evening, following a police chase that ended at the intersection of Sierra Vista and Belmont, a K9 officer attacked an innocent bystander standing in his own front yard. Abc30 reports the police K9 “got loose” and mauled 38-year-old Hanley Sell.
“I don’t know what to do I can’t feed myself,” said Sell. He has gashes on both arms. “The dog basically pulled off the top of my bicep right here because the officer was yanking it by the collar,” said Sell. He was with several people watching as a high speed chase ended at Sierra Vista and Belmont. Instead of running toward the suspect the canine ran straight for him and so Sell says he ran away.
“My little cousin made it through the fence okay but when I went to get over the fence the dog had caught me mid stride,” said Sell.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Sell didn’t do anything wrong. “We recognized last night it was our fault, our mistake,” said Dyer. He said they’re paying for all of sells medical bills. “Unfortunately last night, there was an accident that occurred where this dog was able to break away was not on the leash for whatever reason, someone who was not involved in this incident,” said Dyer.
As for Sell he said he’s just happy to be alive. “Had I been a four-year-old girl, it would have been a lot worse,” said Sell.
Dyer said they’re doing an internal investigation to find out why the canine was able to get loose and to find out if there was any negligence on the part of the officer.
Abc30 conveniently left something out of the story. According to Sell’s niece and sister, Fresno police officers attempted to intimidate the family and told them they would be sued if they posted photos of the incident on the internet. A photo of Sell in the hospital bleeding from his arms was posted to Facebook by Sell’s sister:
My brother after being attacked by a k 9, the hospital and the police were complete dicks. Also had the nerve to say if these pics end up on the internet they will sue us, for what? Are you kidding me! He was standing in his own front yard and had the nerve to ask him Wtf was he doing there. If anyone can help with any information about the best way to go about this please let me know. Were not letting this shit go!
It’s likely the police department didn’t want this story in headlines, understandably. For months, Chief Dyer has been in the media trying to propagate trust, and siccing vicious dogs on innocent people is bad for his facade. Unfortunately for him, it’s becoming common practice for individuals to hold police accountable their own way; with cell phone cameras and social media.
This family should have killed this dog!
Reblogged this on Nevada State Personnel Watch.
I would like to know what training these dogs and handlers have. I grew up with an attack trained police dog (110 lb German Shepard). Czar was trained in Germany and they used the leash training method. Whoever had the leash was in control whether the dog was on or off leash. Commands were Watch: on leash growling and barking looking at subject . Attack (trained to tuck front legs in and using chest and body weight bring down subject and hold them. Out (recall) stop and return to handler.
The most important command any dog owner uses is recall. Almost all certifications require dogs to be recalled. I was just wondering what kind of training these animals receive before they are placed in our community. If the handler(s) can not control their charges then why are we allowing them to be on the street.