DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A Florida police officer is caught on camera hitting a suspected burglar several times in the head with a tennis racquet.
Body camera captured the moments Daytona Beach officers confronted the suspect at a car dealership in April.
In the video, the man does not comply and one of the officers releases his K-9.
The suspect was holding a tennis racquet as the K-9 took him down.
In a report, one officer wrote the suspect tried to choke the dog.
Police K-9′s are considered sworn officers, which means assaulting one can carry consequences similar to a human officer.
In the video, you can see the officer grab the tennis racquet from the suspect. From a second officer’s body camera, you can see the officer strike the suspect several times in the head while telling him to release the K-9.
Eventually the dog was pulled off the suspect and the officers said he continued to resist and was tased before they could get him in handcuffs.
The suspect was arrested for burglary and resisting arrest.
Police have not said if there will be an investigation about the incident.