Salt Lake City K-9 Officer Charged in Second Biting Incident
May 15, 2021 /Local News

Salt Lake City K-9 Officer Charged in Second Biting Incident

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — A Salt Lake police K-9 officer already facing a criminal charge accusing him of releasing his dog on a Black man who was kneeling in his yard with his hands up has been charged in connection with a second biting incident.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed amended charges on Tuesday against Nickolas John Pearce, 39, of Herriman, charging him with a second count of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony the Deseret News reported.

On Nov. 14, 2019, police pulled over an SUV that was reported to be stolen. The female driver complied with orders to hold her hands out the window. She was not making threatening moves toward the officers and did not have a weapon, prosecutors said.

Pearce is accused of lifting up his police dog, Tuco, so he could reach the woman’s extended arms and told the dog to “hit,” prosecutors said. The dog bit the woman’s arm and pulled it down, prosecutors said.

Nellieana Mafileo Langi “suffered significant lacerations to her left forearm,” which required stitches and “caused permanent disfigurement due to scarring,” prosecutors said.

Pearce’s attorney, Tara Isaacson, said both cases were already reviewed and cleared both internally and by the district attorney’s office. In both incidents, Pearce “deployed his dog in a scenario consistent with his training and with department policy,” she said.

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