'In that moment [the dog] saw an aggressor and a victim'
A now-viral video shows the moment a police dog turned on its handler after he slammed a Black man to the ground during a spring break incident.
In a clip shared on Twitter on March 29, a situation infolds between officers and revellers that soon turns nasty.
https://twitter.com/NoPauseTv/status/1508633142265057284
As a female officer cuffs another woman, a male officer, and his dog can be seen pursuing a woman in a khaki bikini. "You wanna go?" the officer can be heard bellowing.
The woman attempts to walk away from the officer, at which point a man in a red cap stands between them to try and defuse the situation and says "he can bite me".
The young man walks away until the officer grabs him by the back of his neck and attempts to apprehend him. Onlookers can be heard screaming, "What are you doing? He didn't do anything?"
The officer slams the unnamed man to the ground, flipping him onto his back in the process. But, just as a woman attempts to assist her friend, the dog takes matters into his own hands.
People back away from the grounded officer as his dog latches onto him.
More than 50,000 people have liked the video.
One commenter wrote: "I don't think the dog attacking should be a joke. It's direct proof that a canine that doesn't see color, racial history, and uniform, in that moment saw an aggressor and a victim, and chose to protect the victim."
https://twitter.com/Joejothegr8/status/1508640767199223811
"Taken a bit out of crime..." another wrote alongside a zoomed-in picture of the dog biting his handler.
It is not clear from the video in what beach town the incident took place or exactly when.
However, it comes after police in Panama City Beach, a popular party destination for college students, confiscated 75 illegal guns - and arrested more than 160 people over the weekend.
Miami, Florida, declared a state of emergency following an influx of violent crimes relating to spring break in March.
"Our city is past its endpoint," Mayor Dan Gelber said on March 21. "We can't endure this anymore. We just simply cannot have people come to our city and have to worry about being shot. That's not a way a city can operate."
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