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A man was caught on police bodycam video biting an Alabama police dog while resisting arrest last week — and cops said the suspect just showed up and became disruptive during an operation he wasn't even part of.
The Florence Police Department said the Lauderdale County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant in the 200 block of North Locust Street in Florence on Wednesday.
'I can tell you what I had a concern of, and of course, all of the citizens. Those are most of my calls in regard to what happened. It’s all about the dog biting him and when the dog was sicced on him.'
Police said the Florence-Lauderdale SWAT team and the Florence Police Department K-9 Unit assisted.
However, during the execution of the warrant, police said 46-year-old David Culliver arrived on scene.
Believe it or not, police said Culliver wasn't involved in the investigation and actually "inserted himself into the situation."
What's more, cops said Culliver "became belligerent, yelled at officers, and stepped into an active roadway with flowing traffic."
Police said an officer ordered Culliver several times to get out of the roadway so a vehicle wouldn't hit him.
However, cops said Culliver re-entered the roadway and continued disrupting traffic.
At that point, officers told Culliver he was being placed under arrest.
But as officers attempted to handcuff him, police said Culliver pulled away and resisted multiple officers as they tried to place him under arrest.
Image source: Florence (Ala.) Police Department bodycam video screenshot
Soon, a Florence Police K-9 was deployed to help take Culliver into custody.
But Culliver grabbed one of the K-9's legs and bit the K-9, police said.
Officers struck Culliver to get him to release the K-9, cops noted.
Culliver then was taken to the ground and placed in handcuffs, police said, adding that he was taken to a hospital for treatment of K-9 puncture wounds and then booked into the Lauderdale County Detention Center. Police did not detail what, if any, injuries the K-9 may have suffered.
Police released video of the incident showing two bodycam angles; the clip from Officer Two showing the struggle between the suspect and the K-9 begins at the 11:27 mark in the video below. You also can view the full video from Officer Two here.
Content warning: Explicit language.
Police said Culliver was being charged for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and interfering with a police dog.
Police said Culliver's bond was set at $2,500; Culliver was not listed as an inmate, according to jail records accessed Monday afternoon.
Police added that "this footage captures the entirety of the encounter, as opposed to the brief clip currently circulating on social media. Shortened videos shared online often present only a limited perspective and may not fully show the sequence of events. Viewing the complete footage is essential to understanding the full context of the situation and ensuring an accurate representation of what occurred."
Police also said the incident "has been thoroughly reviewed, and the use of force applied has been determined to be justified."
However, Florence City Council President Kaytrina Simmons said several community members reached out to her in anger over the officers' actions, according to WAFF-TV.
Simmons told the station that even after considering the police perspective on the incident, the use of the K-9 is troubling to her: "I'm not a police officer. I can tell you what I had a concern of, and of course, all of the citizens. Those are most of my calls in regard to what happened. It's all about the dog biting him and when the dog was sicced on him."
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