Disturbing body camera footage shows Alabama police employing a police dog against an unarmed Black man at his home for no apparent reason in 2021, NewsOne reports.
In the footage, officers from the Sheffield Police Department and Colbert County Sheriff’s Office appeared to approach 50-year-old Marvin Long, questioning whether he lives at the property. Attorneys said Long went outside after noticing a police car parked in front of his home.
“Is this your property?” one officer asked Long, per the footage.
“Go, man,” Long responded.
After further verbal exchange, officers appeared to drag Long onto the front steps of his porch. Long can be heard screaming for help as officers pushed him down and frisked him.
One officer holding a police K-9 on a leash then released the dog, commanding it to "Bite him!"
“I give up,” Long said, per the video. “Yes, I live here!”
According to Long's attorneys, the 50-year-old was arrested face-first on his porch steps on charges of obstruction and resisting arrest. The obstruction charge was later dropped, but Long is still facing trial for allegedly resisting arrest.
“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,” civil rights attorney Harry 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.”
Daniels said he released the footage years after the incident in hopes of accountability.
“This is not a matter of seeking some monetary damages,” Daniels told local media outlet WAFF. “This is about seeking justice and ensuring that you [won’t] be the next person that’s attacked or possibly killed by law enforcement. (…) 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.”
Watch the footage below.
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