Police K-9 attacks man as he sits on couch with hands in the air

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On March 24, 2013, Hoogveldt decided to burn a Christmas tree in a trash can in his backyard, which brought police officers to his residence on a disturbing-the-peace complaint, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.

After Hoogveldt walked back into his house, he saw that three West Jordan officers had surrounded the home — one in the backyard, a second outside his kitchen window and a third outside the front door. The first two had their guns pointed at him, while the one at his door had a German shepherd on a leash.

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When Adams ordered Hoogveldt to put up his hands, he complied. Adams then told him to get off the couch, but according to the complaint, Hoogveldt would have had to put his hands down to get off the deep, overstuffed couch. Several seconds passed. After Hoogveldt didn't get up, Adams commanded his dog to attack Hoogveldt, who still had his hands up. The German shepherd, Pyro, grabbed Hoogveldt's face with his jaws, and ripped and tore at his face for several seconds, the complaint reads. "The canine pulled Hoogveldt off the couch by his face, with Hoogveldt screaming in pain," according to the complaint. "... Adams came over after a few seconds, and with some difficulty caused the canine to release his grip of the face." The other officers then used Tasers on Hoogveldt. Sykes estimated they used Tasers on him three to four times. One to two minutes later, Pyro bit Hoogveldt severely on his buttocks at Adams' direction, the complaint adds.

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