‘Took a Piece of My Arm!’: A Sheriff Posted an Edited Video of a K-9 Tearing Into a Black Man Expecting Praise — Then the Backlash Got Out of Control
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was so proud of his deputies allowing a K-9 to maul a Black man who appeared to be complying with their orders that he posted the video on Facebook, complete with dramatic music to build tension.
But the Florida sheriff has gone silent after facing an onslaught of criticism over the video.
And the Black man mauled in the video, James Cash Corona, is now planning to file a lawsuit.
His crime? The 27-year-old had a warrant for violating probation stemming from a reckless driving with alcohol conviction.
He was also charged with resisting arrest without violence, but that allegation is not evident in the edited video posted by the sheriff’s office on June 3.
“K-9 Deputy Weimer made multiple requests for Mr. Corona to exit the vehicle from the passenger side of the vehicle. Mr. Corona refused to exit the vehicle,” states the arrest affidavit.
“Deputy Weimer ordered his K-9 to be used. Mr. Corona was then taken into custody. I then placed Mr. James Cash Corona under arrest for resisting without violence and for his active warrant.”
Since the arrest, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to Atlanta Black Star’s request for the full, unedited video of the incident.
The sheriff’s office has also ignored local WESH 2, which interviewed Corona.
“I got out the car, and they released the dog on me as soon as I got out the car,” Corona told WESH 2.
“They said they were going to release the dog if I didn’t cooperate, but, actually, I didn’t understand because I was cooperating.”
Corona also told reporters he was considering legal action against the sheriff’s office.
“It was very painful. It still is very painful. The dog took a piece of my arm out,” he said.
‘We’re Not Animals’
On June 2, Sheriff Ivey bragged on the agency’s Facebook page that he was “riding shotgun” with another deputy, his preferred branding for dashcam-style videos he posts of arrests.
“You never know what the night is going to bring when we go out Riding Shotgun!!” he wrote in the description of the video posted the following day showing Corona’s arrest.
“Check out what we got into last night with West Precinct Deputy Nusl!!”
Deputies had pulled a car over after spotting Corona lying down in the passenger seat, apparently recognizing him because they referred to him by his first name.
“Step out of the car, James, with your hands up, or you’re going to get bit,” the K-9 deputy yelled as several other deputies pointed their guns at the car.
“This is your last warning. Step out of the car, or you’re gonna get dog bit. Come out to us with your hands up.”
Corona steps out of the car with his hands raised, but the deputy releases the dog anyway, and the K-9 immediately begins mauling him.
“Agh,” he cries out in pain. “I’m down! I’m down! I’m down! I’m down! Agh!”
Several deputies then pile on top of him to handcuff him as he continues screaming.
Because the sheriff’s office posted an edited version of the footage, it is not clear how long it took Corona to step out of the car, but the affidavit’s claim that he never exited is contradicted by the video itself.
“We’re human beings. We’re not animals,” Corona told WESH 2.
“The dog is an animal. That’s why you had to get him off my arm, because he was attacking me.”
Corona was arrested last year for committing a hit-and-run crash while under the influence resulting in the warrant.
Watch the video below.