Metro East mom says son attacked by police dog for no reason
By Kim St. Onge
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GRANITE CITY, Illinois (KMOV) — A Metro East mom is pressing for answers after she says her son was attacked by a Granite City police dog.
“I ain’t never scream like that a day in my life,” said Devondrea Williams, who was bit by the dog early Monday morning.
Williams said he was in the back of a truck his cousin was driving with a friend when police pulled them over around 2:30 a.m. Williams said police never explained why they were pulling them over. Williams’ cousin says they were pulled over because he was involved in a fight. Granite City police confirm they pulled the teens over because some of the individuals in the truck were involved in a fight. What happened after they were pulled over is what’s really in question.
Williams said police asked for his information and told him to get out of the back of the truck.
“I see him reaching for his handcuffs, so I go to put my hand like this and then he grabs my arm aggressively. I look at him and then two other cops get pushing me. They push me onto the truck, and then I see the dog out of the corner of my eye and then the dog bites me,” said Williams. “He bit me like I think five times.”
Regeana Canada lives near the location where the teens were pulled over. She said she saw the police lights and walked outside to see what was going on, and ended up recording the interaction on her cell phone.
“I’m a mom and those are somebody’s kids,” said Canada.
Canada believes the dog was latched on Williams’ leg for about eight to nine minutes. In the video she recorded, you can hear what appears to be the officer repeatedly shouting commands for the dog to release.
“They had to tase the dog,” said Williams. “If you have a K9, shouldn’t the dog listen to you?”
“I’m not anti-police, there’s just some questions about that particular incident I would like answered because I don’t understand why the dog got let loose,” said Canada.
News 4 stopped by the Granite City Police Department looking for answers, but was told the captain was not in the office. Within an hour, News 4 received an email from Captain Gary Brooks:
Officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle with some of the individuals involved in the incident. At this time, officers attempted to continue to gather facts to ascertain what exactly had taken place.
During the traffic stop, an individual obstructed the investigation and resisted arrest. They were taken into custody with the assistance of a police K-9. This investigation is still ongoing and as a result, no further information can be given at this time regarding this matter.
“No, he did not resist arrest at all,” said Canada.
Canada and Williams said no one was arrested.
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