Two Michigan police officers charged with misconduct, felonious assault for deploying K-9 on detained suspect
(CBS DETROIT) - Two Sterling Heights police officers were charged with misconduct and felonious assault for deploying a K-9 on an arrested individual, the Michigan Attorney General's office announced.
The charges against officers James Sribniak and Jack Currie stem from the arrest of a Roseville man on Feb. 25, 2024.
State officials say the officers were chasing the man, who fled from a traffic stop. Police caught the man suspected of domestic violence and used tasers on him. Officials say Currie urged Sribniak to deploy the K-9 to bite the man, which Sribniak eventually ordered the dog to do.
The man was bit in his posterior right hip.
"K9 assistance can be a valuable tool for law enforcement but must be deployed with good judgment," said Attorney General Dana Nessel. "K9 Officers are rigorously trained in the proper use of police dogs and should be held to the highest standards of conduct. We should be able to trust them to not deploy a dog as an unnecessary and unlawful punitive measure to brutally attack a human being. In this incident, deploying a K9 on a suspect already on the ground and well-surrounded by officers is not only horrific but illegal. My office remains committed to thoroughly investigating and prosecuting police misconduct."
Currie and Sribniak have not yet been arraigned.
Sterling Heights police say that the two officers have been put on unpaid leave pending the outcome of these charges. The department released the following statement regarding the incident:
"The state Attorney General's office has notified the Sterling Heights Police Department that two officers have been charged stemming from use of force after a domestic violence call and subsequent arrest that occurred on Feb. 25, 2024. The suspect was charged with five felony counts and three misdemeanor counts.
Following the incident, the department immediately reviewed the case and, in accordance with use of force protocol, called for an immediate, independent review of the incident by the Macomb County Sheriff's Department. The findings of that review were shared with Macomb County Prosecutor's office, and the case was ultimately transferred to the Michigan Attorney General's Office for a determination on potential charges.
The Sterling Heights Police Department takes any matter involving officers and their conduct very seriously and will continue to do so.
Both officers are on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the charges. As this is now a pending criminal matter, we are unable to provide further comment on the case."