Alabama man, bitten by K-9, bites dog back during drug task force operation

FLORENCE, Ala. — A northern Alabama man was arrested after police said he disrupted a drug task force operation. During the arrest, a K-9 was dispatched and bit him.

The man bit back, authorities said.

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According to the Florence Police Department, David Culliver, 46, of Sheffield, was arrested on Wednesday. He was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, public intoxication and interfering with a police dog.

Police released nearly 12 minutes of body camera footage that shows an encounter between Culliver and officers who were attempting to execute a search warrant in Florence, AL.com reported.

“Culliver was not involved in the investigation and inserted himself into the situation,” the department wrote in a Facebook post. “He became belligerent, yelled at officers, and stepped into an active roadway with flowing traffic.”

According to police, Culliver was told several times to step off the road so he would not be hit by a vehicle, WAAY reported.

Culliver allegedly refused, stepping back onto the road and disrupting traffic, according to the television station.

Officers then placed Culliver under arrest, but he resisted and pulled away as they tried to handcuff him, WAFF reported.

During the attempted arrest, Culliver asks why he is being arrested and can be seen struggling as four officers surround him, according to AL.com.

As one officer holds Culliver’s upper body and another holds his legs, the K-9 is commanded to bite the suspect, the news outlet reported.

Culliver grabs the dog’s leg after he was bitten and several officers strike him in the head and upper body before he lets go.

“Let go of my dog,” Officer 2 said.

“Your dog got me,” Culliver responded.

At that point, Culliver bit the dog and was struck several more times before eventually being handcuffed by police, AL.com reported.

The graphic, profanity-laced body cam video has circulated in some forms on social media, but Florence police wrote on Facebook that a longer version was released to show more context.

“Shortened videos shared online often present only a limited perspective and may not fully show the sequence of events,” police wrote. “Viewing the complete footage is essential to understanding the full context of the situation and ensuring an accurate representation of what occurred.

“The incident has been thoroughly reviewed, and the use of force applied has been determined to be justified,” Florence police said.

Culliver was booked into the Lauderdale County Detention Center with a $2,500 bond, police said.