From [HERE] Anthony Paredes never missed a chance to show off his voice.

Even as he struggled to keep his rocky life on track, the 41-year-old sang every Sunday at church, belted out tunes at family functions and loved karaoke.

But his voice was forever damaged two years ago when a San Jose police K-9 sunk its teeth into his throat and held on for a full minute, shredding his windpipe and fracturing thyroid cartilage. His windpipe was crushed by a SJPD K-9 in 2020. 

Parades was suspected of helping his girlfriend in a robbery and he was hiding in a trash bin when police deployed their German shepherd, Tex, to apprehend him.

Body-worn camera footage obtained by KTVU shows the fateful encounter in graphic detail, blood covering Paredes’ face as the dog thrashed its head side-to-side.

The episode underscores major concerns critics have been raising about the use of K-9s: Unlike other use-of-force options, police dogs can be unpredictable, often leading to devastating and disproportionate injuries regardless of what a person has done. In Paredes’ case, his injuries were nearly fatal, requiring two weeks in a hospital.

In California, there’s little accountability after a police dog injures and maims someone. And state law leaves it up to each agency to decide how the animals are used.  In fact, San Jose police deploy K-9s more than any law enforcement agency in the Bay Area – 187 bites in five years, a KTVU investigation earlier this year revealed.

The San Jose Police Department declined to comment on the case due to the pending litigation. Paredes has filed a federal excessive force lawsuit against SJPD. 

Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Zoglin wrote that Parades' injuries resulted from his own "wrongful actions" and that he had "committed crimes including, but not limited to, failure to yield to police authority."

Paredes’ lawyer countered that the attack on his client highlights how vicious police dog bites can be, adding that it's shameful how callous the police and the public view these K-9 injuries. 

"Anthony’s life had no value and they treated him like garbage and he almost died," said civil rights attorney Izaak Schwaiger. "He came within inches of his life while the very people who were sworn to protect him stood by and did nothing."

The K-9 scenario unfolded on Feb. 7, 2020, when an employee at a Safeway on Berryessa Road called police saying a woman had grabbed more than $350 worth of tequila and attempted to run, according to a police report of the incident obtained by KTVU. 

When the worker tried to stop the woman, Paredes ran up and threatened to "cut" the employee, the report says. Records show Paredes never brandished a knife. Police later found he had brass knuckles.

Paredes and his girlfriend fled on foot into a surrounding neighborhood where Paredes was captured on a police helicopter’s thermal camera. Officers approached the backyard with Tex. The K-9 discovered Paredes had crawled into a trash bin. 

The dog pawed at the bin and barked as officers approached with their guns drawn. An officer grabbed a broom and pushed the bin over, toppling it to the ground, allowing the dog to get at him.

"Show us your hands!" the officers yelled to Paredes. But seconds later, the dog bit down on his neck. The video is foul, white cops and the white liberal authorities who empower them are reprehensible, the belief in authority is evil. Watch it for yourself.

Ernest Burwell, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff K-9 handler and police dog expert, reviewed the video as he was asked to write up a report for Schwaiger’s suit. He does not think the police dog was used appropriately.

"The dog was holding onto Anthony’s neck like it was some kind of wild dog over in Africa where it was going to choke him to death," Burwell said. "Everybody just stood around and did nothing to get that dog off for a long period of time. The other officers need to be held accountable for failing to intervene." [Africa? not as uncivilized as yurugu.]