Neighbors react to viral video of police arrest

Two brothers who live in Santa Maria were shocked to see the video of a man on the ground surrounded by Santa Maria police officers near Boone Street and Western Street.

“It just makes me so sad that these dudes are such cowards. Like, there are five or six of them, a dog, an attack dog, and then there’s a man sitting on the ground unarmed and defenseless,” said David Overton who lives in the area where the incident happened.

David and his brother Ben said they feel safe in the neighborhood.

“I know all the people in this neighborhood, and we look out for each other. We like each other. I mean I feel safe with us, not with them,” David said.

KEYT Newschannel 3 reached out to the ACLU Foundation of Southern California about the video. A representative responded, in part,

” The use of a canine on someone already apprehended and prone on the ground with several officers on top of them is particularly troubling. Police canines should never be used to attack or maul members of the public like this.”

“Something to consider is that the video is a small portion of the big picture. They try to investigate it from the standpoint of tactics, training and equipment. Those are the three things we look at to see if our officers used the proper tactics,” said Lt. Jesse Silva with the Santa Maria Police Department.

Santa Maria police are currently investigating the incident.

KEYT 2019