‘Excessive force’ claims arise after video shows suspect being bitten by K-9 officer

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    WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — The Winston-Salem Police Department is conducting an internal review after a video, showing a K-9 attack, started circulating on social media.

Authorities said Jahmiek Jacobs, 22, of Winston-Salem, has been charged with misdemeanor breaking-and-entering and misdemeanor resist, delay and obstruct. The incident Jacobs was involved in occurred in the 1400 block of East Fourth Street. According to a Winston-Salem police report, the alleged breaking-and-entering crime happened Monday around 11 a.m. The victim of the investigation was a 60-year-old male, reports say. Police said Jacobs ran away as officers arrived on the scene. Police said a K-9 handler was used to help apprehend Jacobs.

A video, credited to Crawford Deveaux, shows Jacobs running away from police after the alleged break-in, but then stopping in the road. Broadcastify audio indicates the officers caught up with Jacobs on Martin Luther King Junior Drive near the Popeyes Restaurant.

“What I saw was a K-9 run right past the guy,” Deveaux recalled over the phone to 12 Investigates.

In the video, it appears as Jacobs begins to surrender to police, a K-9 officer runs past him. Deveaux then said he saw the dog attack, although Jacobs was already down on at least one knee.

“It didn’t take that much thinking to just say, ‘Hey, he’s right in front of me. Let me just reach out and cuff him,’ you know,” said Deveaux.

A spokesperson for the Winston-Salem Police Department said they are aware of the video and are conducting an “internal administrative review” to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and the K-9 response.

The Winston-Salem Police Department said Jacobs did comply with orders.

They also said the K-9 handler responding only communicates commands with his dog in the Czech dialect or language and therefore those who aren’t fluent in Czech wouldn’t understand the commands given at the time of the incident. The department released a statement in full below about the incident and their review.

They also explained more about the interaction with the K-9, the officer’s commands and Jacobs. The statement below reads in part: “Due to this compliance, the WSPD K9 handler gave his K9 a command to return to his side, which is known as a recall. The dog immediately followed the instruction. Simultaneously, Mr. Jacobs was given loud verbal commands by the K9 handler to, “Get on the ground now,” in English so he could be taken into custody. Once the recall command was given, the K-9 handler did not give the dog a command to bite Mr. Jacobs.”

The police department also said the K-9 appeared to have “perceived his handler’s non-verbal and verbal commands as an order to engage.” The officer then tried to stop the dog from biting Jacobs and was “unable to grab him in time,” according to the department. Police said the dog bit Jacobs in the forearm but he later refused treatment at the hospital.

The police department also said in part, “While these K-9s are valuable assets to our department and undergo intensive and rigorous training, we must also acknowledge when they make a mistake. In this instance, our K-9 should not have bitten Mr. Jacobs. We regret this occurred and we are fortunate that Mr. Jacobs only had minor injuries. Trust between our officers, our K-9 partners, and the community is essential to effective policing and public safety. We are dedicated to ensuring these highly trained K-9 teams operate with professionalism and precision.”

The department said they will review training and communication protocols to reinforce best practices among their officers and K-9 handlers.

Jacobs was released on a written promise to appear.

Winston-Salem Police Department released the following statement in full about the incident:

“The Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) is aware of a social media video currently circulating online, which has generated significant public interest and concern. In our commitment to transparency, we wanted to provide a detailed description of what transpired after we gathered confirmed information about this incident. It is important to note that WSPD was already investigating the facts of this incident prior to the social media video surfacing. In addition, our K9 Handler only communicates commands with his dog in Czech. Therefore, if you are not fluent in the Czech dialect or language, you may not understand the commands being given. Now that we have an initial understanding, we are providing the following statement regarding the incident depicted in the video.

On Monday, February 10, 2025, at 11:07 a.m., WSPD officers responded to a report of a housebreaking in progress at 1417 E Fourth Street. The suspect, identified by the caller as Jahmiek Amar Jacobs, was known to the reporting party. As officers arrived at the residence, Mr. Jacobs fled the area on foot. Officers engaged in a foot pursuit with Mr. Jacobs. A WSPD K9 handler and his K9 were deployed in the 500 block of N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to assist in apprehending Mr. Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs stopped his flight in the roadway and complied with officers on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Due to this compliance, the WSPD K9 handler gave his K9 a command to return to his side, which is known as a recall. The dog immediately followed the instruction. Simultaneously, Mr. Jacobs was given loud verbal commands by the K9 handler to, “Get on the ground now,” in English so he could be taken into custody. Once the recall command was given, the K9 handler did not give the dog a command to bite Mr. Jacobs. Based on our initial review of the incident, the dog appears to have perceived his handler’s non-verbal and verbal commands as an order to engage Mr. Jacobs. The WSPD K9 handler attempted to stop the dog from biting Mr. Jacobs and was unable to grab him in time. The dog bit Mr. Jacobs on his forearm. The WSPD handler immediately secured the dog, and Mr. Jacobs was taken into custody. Mr. Jacobs was transported to a local hospital where he refused medical treatment. Mr. Jacobs was charged with Misdemeanor Housebreaking and Larceny and misdemeanor Resist, Delay and Obstruct. He was released on a written promise to appear. The WSPD remains committed to accountability, transparency, and the responsible use of our K9 units. Our police K9s are an extremely valuable tool and have been utilized to find missing persons, locate drugs, and apprehend offenders. While these K9s are valuable assets to our department and undergo intensive and rigorous training, we must also acknowledge when they make a mistake. In this instance, our K9 should not have bitten Mr. Jacobs. We regret this occurred and we are fortunate that Mr. Jacobs only had minor injuries. Trust between our officers, our K9 partners, and the community is essential to effective policing and public safety. We are dedicated to ensuring these highly trained K9 teams operate with professionalism and precision. To maintain and strengthen that trust, we will be reviewing training and communication protocols to reinforce best practices among our officers and K9 handlers.”

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