Trooper Faces Felony Charge for Leaving K-9 on Suspect

Suspect was bitten multiple times
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 8, 2021 4:11 PM CST
Trooper Faces Felony Charge for Leaving K-9 on Suspect
Surbrook, at left, ordered the dog to stay on the suspect.   (Michigan State Police)

A Michigan State Police trooper who left a K-9 on an unarmed suspect for almost four minutes as the man begged for mercy is facing a felony charge. Graphic dashcam footage from the Nov. 13 arrest shows the German shepherd placing the suspect in a hold and appearing to bite him several times as Trooper Parker Surbrook shouts orders, the New York Times reports. After the man yells, "Please sir, he's on my face," Surbrook replies, "I don't care." A police report on the incident states that the driver, who crashed into a tree after speeding away from a traffic stop, was hospitalized with a hip injury from the crash and was also treated for multiple bite wounds. Surbrook, who was suspended without pay and removed from the canine unit, faces a charge of felonious assault.

The police report states that the driver told investigators he was bitten in the "head, left shoulder blade area, left arm bicep and forearm, left side rib area, left and right side of his pelvic bone area, genitals, and the top of the thighs," per MLive. A gun was recovered from the man's passenger. The police report states that it is standard to leave a K-9 on a suspect until a second suspect is in custody, but the dog remained on the driver for almost two minutes after the passenger was handcuffed. Col. Joseph Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police, said in a statement that Surbrook's actions did not meet the standards of conduct for troopers or the guidelines for dog handlers. The trooper's "disregard of the driver’s pleas for help" was "totally unacceptable," Gasper said. (More K-9 stories.)

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