Aug. 7, 2021 10:30a
(WGTD)---Viewing video of an unarmed Black man being repeatedly bitten by a patrol dog in Racine three years ago puts some members of the group Racine Women for Racial Justice in tears.
While the organization is calling for the dog’s handler, Deputy Edward Drewitz, to be disciplined, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling cites the episode as nothing more than good police work. He calls an excessive force lawsuit that’s been filed on behalf of Deandre McCollum frivolous.
The perspectives are polar opposites. The racial justice group, formed following the death of George Floyd last year, is using the McCollum case and the recent deaths of two inmates in the Racine County Jail as case studies as they push for change.
“Every person that I’ve shown the video to has been horrified, whether that person lives in Racine or anywhere else,” says William Sultan, a Milwaukee attorney who filed the excessive force lawsuit in federal court on behalf of McCollum. “I haven’t found a single person who has seen that video who believes that is necessary or justifiable force,” he said.
Schmaling see it differently. “I have complete faith in our community and our court system that when all facts are presented and thoroughly reviewed, the court will conclude the quick and brave actions taken by Deputy Drewitz and K-9 Friday were well within his training and experience and completely an appropriate use of force to stop a very dangerous and resistive suspect,” Schmaling said in an email to WGTD.
WGTD recently examined the criminal complaint stemming from the incident, the federal lawsuit and the responses from Sheriff Schmaling and the citizens group.
McCollum’s interaction with Deputy Drewitz began on a downtown Racine street on a Monday morning in August of 2018.
Drewitz, finishing up a traffic stop involving another motorist, noticed a man getting into the passenger side of a vehicle parked in front of the motorist and his marked squad car. The man also had something in his hand as he got in, then quickly got out and disappeared.
To Drewitz, this signaled that a drug deal could be in the works.
At some point, Drewitz noticed that the suspect vehicle also appeared to have windows that were tinted too dark.
Drewitz wanted to question the driver, but he took off, leading Drewitz on a short, high-speed chase that ended with the driver, McCollum, crashing into a parked car and fleeing on foot. Drewitz would later find a quantity of marijuana in McCollum’s vehicle.
The foot pursuit quickly ended after Drewitz released his patrol dog, named “Friday”. The dog caught up to McCollum, tripping him up by clamping down on his leg.
This is where interpretations of what happened next vary.
Sultan and racial justice group view the next few seconds as a horrific example of excessive use of force.
They say the video shows a scared young man apologizing and attempting to surrender while at the same time instinctively making moves to lessen the impact of the dog’s painful grip. He repeatedly begs the deputy to call off the dog. "He won't stop," McCollum repeatedly cries out.
Once handcuffed and on his stomach, McCollum, who has been tased in addition to being bitten, tries to lift himself up, in an attempt, Sultan says, to simple catch some air and breathe. Sultan says the deputy should’ve used two handcuffs on the large man and should've turned him over himself.
In response to the continued movement, Drewitz releases his dog a second time and its bites McCollum again.
Another officer arrives on scene and the video clip ends.
In a statement to WGTD, Sheriff Schmaling calls the incident “unfortunate” but says it could’ve been easily avoided if McCollum would’ve followed “legal directives” and complied with the orders. He also disputes the notion that McCollum posed no threat as soon as the dog took him down to the ground. “From this position Deandre McCollum could certainly draw a gun, pull a knife, punch, bite, spit and flee again,” he wrote. McCollum was not armed.
Schmaling accuses McCollum of purposefully taking “extreme and very dangerous measures to avoid being safely taken into custody.”
McCollum was convicted of fleeing and possession with intent to deliver and sent to prison in this case as well as another in which his probation was revoked.
The federal lawsuit is in its discovery phase, Sultan said.
Sultan acknowledges that McCollum shouldn’t have fled. But Sultan, who is Black, argues that fleeing is often an instinctive reaction for Black men when confronted by a white police officer because so many Black men have had negative experiences with police interactions. He cites his own experiences, as well as those of his relatives.
Deputy Drewitz is white.
Sheriff Schmaling’s complete response is here. A statement from the racial justice group can be found here.
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