Home WebMail Friday, November 1, 2024, 11:21 PM | Calgary | -2.1°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2020-09-17T16:40:08Z | Updated: 2020-09-17T16:40:08Z

A Utah police officer was charged with aggravated assault almost five months after body camera footage showed him ordering his K-9 police dog to bite a Black man who was on his knees with his hands in the air, prosecutors said.

Salt Lake City Police Officer Nickolas Pearce was charged Wednesday with second-degree felony aggravated assault in the April 24 incident that left 36-year-old Jeffrey Ryans with lasting leg injuries and disfigurement, the Salt Lake County District Attorneys office said.

Ryans wasnt resisting arrest, District Attorney Sam Gill told The Salt Lake Tribune. He certainly wasnt posing an imminent threat of violence or harm to anyone, and he certainly wasnt concealed. He was fenced in an area and was being compliant.

Pearce, who is white, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.