The FBI is getting involved after camera video showing three white Missouri cops letting a dog repeatedly bite a Black man surfaced online.
Woodson Terrace Police Chief Randy Halstead said the department is "fully cooperating" with federal investigators in an emailed statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, per ABC News.
Police said in a statement that they responded to a call that a man had broken into a business and appeared to be under the influence of drugs when officers arrived on the scene. According to the department's statement, the man threatened the officers and they warned him the K-9 would be used if he didn't comply with commands.
Cell phone video captured by a bystander shows the dog biting the man's foot as he yells in pain. His hands are on the police car when the dog is released. The footage shows the dog continuously biting the man for about 30 seconds.
The officer in control of the dog's leash then gets the animal up, the man attempts to stand but stumbles, causing the dog to lunge at him again, this time biting one of his legs. The biting continues for another 30 seconds.
According to reports, the man was taken to a hospital to receive treatment and was later released. He was not charged with any crimes.
Protesters gathered outside the police department demanding the termination and prosecution of the officers involved.
"We were outraged by the vile and despicable behavior of the Woodson Terrace police officers," local activist Zaki Baruti told the Post-Dispatch, comparing the cellphone video to the use of dogs on protesters during the 1960s.
Rev. Darryl Gray, another activist, said the police officers' actions were "reprehensible and inexcusable."
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