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A Michigan State Police trooper who unleashed his canine on a suspect, setting off a nearly four-minute mauling, has been charged with felonious assault, MSP officials say.
The charges stem from a Lansing arrest Nov. 18, when canine handler Parker Surbrook, 33, chased a vehicle whose passenger was believed to be armed.
After the driver fled and crashed, Surbrook set his canine "Knox" on him and let him continue to attack even as the driver pleaded for help and said he wasn't resisting, an internal investigation found. The passenger of the vehicle was arrested midway through the attack and a weapon was later found under his seat.
The incident was discovered as part of a routine review in December, police officials said. It revealed "multiple policy violations" and led Surbrook to be placed on leave amid a criminal investigation that ended Feb. 11.
Surbrook's lawyer was not immediately available for comment. The canine handler's supervisor told investigators he may have left the dog on the driver because he knew him not to be overly aggressive or a hard biter. He said he was also not trained to handcuff the suspect with the dog deployed and was waiting for backup.
