Dayton police: Officer used ‘open-hand strike’ on K9 partner after being bitten

“The Dayton Police Department is actively addressing the recent social media video that has come to our attention, depicting an incident involving a canine unit officer and their canine partner,” the statement read. “It is important to understand that the social media video does not capture the full context of the situation.”

The video clip is 10 seconds long.

“During a joint auto theft suppression operation, officers were pursing suspects who ran away from a stolen car that they were both in. The officer in the video deployed his canine partner, they were able to catch up to the suspect when the officer gave the command to bite to help bring the suspect into custody. The canine missed the suspect and then bit the handler three separate times, twice on the legs and once on the hand. The officer then took the suspect into custody and the canine officer used an open-hand strike on his canine partner shortly after being bitten. The canine was not injured, the officer, however, was treated for his injuries and the injuries were documented,” according to an updated statement released Tuesday.

Police released 48 seconds of body camera footage of the incident on Tuesday.

The footage shows officers and the K9 chasing after a suspect. The officer can be heard calling orders to the dog, and the suspect stops when the K9 catches up. It is unclear if the K9 bites the suspect.

When the officer catches up shortly after, the dog can be seen biting the officer. The officer pushes the K9 away, and after the dog jumps at him again orders the dog back. While officers arrest the suspect, the dog circles in the area then lies down.

The officer then moves over, grabs the K9′s harness, and hits the dog, loudly saying “No.” He can be heard telling someone that the dog bit him.

The 17-year-old suspect, along with the other 16-year-old suspect, were both arrested on multiple charges and booked into the Juvenile Justice Center, police said.

“We appreciate the public’s concern, the department takes this matter seriously, and will be conducting an administrative review to assess the incident circumstances and training to ensure the appropriate measures are taken. The well-being of our officers and canine partners are of utmost importance in providing the highest standards of care and training for all officers and canine units,” the Tuesday statement read.