Family demands answers after Broward Sheriff’s K-9 bites man during arrest captured on widely shared video
By Abby Dodge, Morgan Rynor
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POMPANO BEACH, Florida (WFOR) — The family of a 36-year-old man is demanding answers after a Broward Sheriff’s Office K-9 bit him during an arrest captured on video that has circulated widely online.
Relatives of Fricost Jerome said they have not seen him since the incident and are concerned about his condition.
Video recorded by a bystander near Northwest Third Avenue and Northwest 12th Court in Pompano Beach shows a K-9, held by its handler, biting Jerome’s ankle as deputies attempted to take him into custody.
“It devastated me. I couldn’t look at it,” Jerome’s aunt, Sheila Burke, said. “That was uncalled for, period.”
Burke said her nephew has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and she believes deputies may not have recognized that he did not understand what was happening.
“What about training with the mentally ill?” Burke said.
Jerome faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and resisting an officer.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, an employee at the Atlantic Palms Apartments called deputies Tuesday after reporting that Jerome stole a toolbox from a maintenance shed. The employee told investigators Jerome threatened her with a box cutter when confronted.
In a statement, BSO Spokesperson Veda Coleman-Wright said district deputies, K-9, and aviation units responded Tuesday to a report of an armed robbery in progress.
“Per agency policy, when K9s are used to apprehend suspects, like in Tuesday’s arrest of an armed suspect, the suspect receives medical treatment, and the use of force is reported to supervisors and thoroughly documented for an administrative review,” Coleman-Wright said.
Jerome’s family went to BSO headquarters seeking details about his whereabouts and medical condition but said they were unable to get information.
“I want him to know that he has a family,” Burke said. “He has a family that loves him and is going to be by him. And we are not going to lay down on this incident.”
The Sheriff’s Office stated that all use-of-force incidents are reviewed through its administrative process.
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