An Indiana man suffered serious wounds in an encounter with a police dog. Video footage showed Richard Bailey Jr., encounter with police, but evidence was released over the weekend. Bailey’s lawyers have described the incident as “extraordinarily violent,” and the officers involved have been accused of excessive force.
The incident took place on May 9, 2020, was riding a moped when he was stopped by officers and identified as matching the description of a battery suspect. The officers called on the police dog during the arrest, which mauled Bailey’s neck for 30 seconds as the officers were handcuffing the man. In a newly released 911 call, a woman tells the dispatcher that a man is acting out violently, hitting people and making threats.
“There’s a fight, and he’s hitting women; he’s hitting men; he’s threatening to kill people,” the woman said. The woman said the assailant had been drinking and threw a woman against the wall before leaving. The description of the attacker matched Bailey’s appearance according to Journal & Courier.
“Three of our police officers responded to an emergency call to our 911 center, where it was reported that a man had battered multiple people, including throwing a woman across the room,” Lafayette Police Chief Patrick Flannelly said. The officers involved have been identified as Josh Saxton, Nicholas Klimek and Victor Sikorski.
The video footage of the arrest shows Bailey’s encounter with the officers as they approach him.
“Why you want to fight me?” Bailey said. “You want to force me off my moped.”
“We want you off the moped,” one of the officers responded.
“That’s fighting,” Bailey said.
“Hey, there’s a dog in that car. If you fight, you’re going to get dog-bit” Saxton said.
The police dog attacked after Saxton opened the police door to release the K-9, Boyka, while officers were attempting to handcuff Bailey. The K-9 punctured Bailey trachea, cut his carotid artery, damaged his neck tissue and injured his shoulder. Bailey would also suffer a broken finger during the arrest. Bailey spent six days in a medically-induced coma at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
Bailey’s attorneys claim he was a victim pf racial profiling. “I can unequivocally say that this is about race,” Fatima Johnson said in a statement. “If Richard Lee Bailey were not a black man, he would not have been treated like this.”
The police department reviewed the arrest and found that “the K9 deployment was within policy — within our use of force continuum and within policy.” The department also says race was not a factor in the arrest or use of force.
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