‘Bite Him!’ Video Shows Alabama Cops Sic Police Dog On Unarmed Black Man They Attacked At His Home
Newly released bodycam video footage shows Alabama police using a police dog to attack an unarmed Black man they were already brutalizing at his home in 2021.
Marvin Long is shown on his porch being approached by officers from the Sheffield Police Department and Colbert County Sheriff’s Office asking whether he lives there. According to attorneys, 50-year-old Long was outside after noticing a police cruiser parked in front of his home in the city of Sheffield, which is about 72 miles west of Huntsville.
The video footage provided by attorneys shows the officers were aggressive with Long from the beginning without ever providing a reason for their presence on his private property.
“Is this your property?” one officer is heard asking Long as the video shows him with his hands raised.
“Go, man,” Long says while pointing with his left arm away from his home before repeating it.
“Nope,” an officer is heard saying before another rushes at Long, who appeared to be attempting to retreat into the home.
“What are you doing, bro?” Long exclaims as another officer is shown helping the first cop.
“You must think we’re fucking stupid,” a cop says as both officers drag Long onto the front steps of his porch.
Long screams for help as officers push him down onto the steps and appear to be frisking him.
That’s when the sound of a dog’s bark can be heard getting louder, as a police K-9 is shown being held on a leash while lunging toward Long.
The officer who was holding the dog’s leash then released it as voices can repeatedly be heard imploring the K-9 to “bite him!”
Long pleads for the officers to “stop” to no avail.
“I give up,” Long is shown saying. “Yes, I live here!”
But the officers’ brutality persists, pushing Long face-first into his porch’s steps before handcuffing him.
To be sure, Long was physically attacked first by the officers and then by the police dog after never having displayed any sort of threat to the cops.
Long’s attorneys said he was arrested and charged with obstruction and resisting arrest before the obstruction charge was dropped. Long’s trial in the case is scheduled to begin next month.
“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 emailed to NewsOne. “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 was releasing the footage nearly two years after the incident in an effort to ensure the safety of the community.
“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.”
Not ironically, one of the officers involved in Long’s violent arrest is now facing criminal charges of his own.
Sheffield Police Lt. Max Dotson was arrested last month and charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, third-degree assault and harassment for allegedly brutalizing another Black man, WAFF reported.
Demarcus Key claims Dotson, who was off-duty at the time on Dec. 23, 2022, assaulted him in his mouth and nose and aimed a gun at him.
Dotson has since been placed on administrative leave.
This is America.
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