December 24: Trump Pardons Former Prince George's Officer In Canine Police Brutality Case

[mahatmakanejeeves]

DEC 24, 4:42 PM

Trump Pardons Former Prince George’s Officer In Canine Police Brutality Case

Jenny Gathright https://twitter.com/jennygathright

Amid a slew of last-minute pardons, President Donald Trump has granted clemency to a former Prince George’s County police officer who served 10 years in prison for releasing her police dog on an unarmed man experiencing homelessness.

During a search for burglars in 1995, Stephanie Mohr released her dog on Ricardo G. Mendez, a Mexican immigrant who had been sleeping on a roof in Takoma Park and was not resisting arrest. Prosecutors said the dog took a chunk out of Mendez’s leg, and Mohr was convicted in 2001 of violating his civil rights.

The case came amid a massive federal probe into Prince George’s County police, which included an investigation into the canine unit along with a separate investigation into excessive force across the department. It led to broad reforms in the department and years of independent oversight from the federal government.

Court records and reporting from the time showed a pattern of alleged misconduct among officers involving police dogs. Mohr was named in at least four civil lawsuits accusing her of brutality, according to the Washington Post. Federal prosecutors named five instances where Mohr was accused of either releasing her dog or threatening to release her dog on Black people who were not resisting arrest.

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