Last week, a Kansas City police dog bit a man and the man bit back.
On Friday, two men who monitor police use-of-force met with police officials to see whether the using the dog was necessary.
“I'm satisfied the officer practiced some restraint,” Alonzo Washington, a community leader who monitors police situations, said afterward. “But there should be a less aggressive way to subdue someone.”
In this case, Kansas City police disagree. They said the suspect punched the officer, fought the dog and struggled with four officers who arrived later.
“I totally support the police officer,” said Kansas City Police Chief Jim Corwin. “What he did was totally appropriate for the situation.”
The Nov. 12 incident began about 2:15 a.m. when a cabdriver flagged down Officer David Magruder as he pumped gas at 1245 Prospect Ave. The cabdriver said a rider, whom he had dropped at 13th Street and Brooklyn Avenue, had refused to pay his $9.40 fare.
Police gave this account:
Magruder saw a man matching the suspect's description on a porch near 13th Street and Olive Avenue. Magruder told him he needed to pay his cab fare. The man refused and ran. When Magruder tackled him, the man punched him in the face.
The man ran again; Magruder tackled him again. The man elbowed and fought Magruder, who told the man to stop struggling or he would let his police dog, Soty, out of his patrol car. When the man kept fighting, Magruder used a remote control to open his car door.
The dog jumped on the man, who ran with the dog dangling from his back. Magruder tackled them both. Exhausted, Magruder lay on the man until backup officers arrived.
Meanwhile, Soty bit the struggling man's arm. The man grabbed Soty's collar, pulled the dog to him and bit Soty's ear. Soty whimpered but kept his hold on the arm. The man then bit Magruder's hand, breaking the skin.
That part of the encounter lasted about 40 seconds before four other officers arrived. Soty released the man's arm, and the arriving officers tried to arrest the man. They used a Taser to subdue him.
Washington, accompanied Friday by Ron Hunt, said he was mainly concerned about the 40-second period when Magruder lay on the suspect and the dog's teeth remained in the suspect's arm. The officer's in-car video camera recorded this part of the incident.
Police said the dog kept his hold because the man continued to struggle. But Washington said the man could not stay still because the dog bite was painful.
“We're not for this guy (the suspect) because he was fighting the police, but we want to make sure there is some policy in place so when a police dog takes you down, the dog doesn't continue to maul you,” Washington said.
Police said Magruder could not have told the dog to release the arm because the man was still fighting.
“Even after the assisting officers arrived, they had to Taser him,” said Capt. Jerry Gallagher, who commands the canine unit. “This guy never had any intention of giving up or he would have done it after the dog left.”
The police canine unit apprehended 116 suspects in the past three years, Gallagher said. In 82 of those cases, the dog did not bite the suspect.
Corwin said he understands that residents may have questions about how police use force.
“It's right to ask questions, and I think we've answered those questions,” he said.
The suspect, Mark A. McClarty, 28, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged in municipal court with assault, resisting arrest and stealing. Police were also testing a white rock-like substance found in his pocket.
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