Video Captures Police Dog Taking Down Knife-wielding Suspect Who Punched Cop in the Face

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Dramatic video footage from a cellphone camera captured a police K-9 dog helping wrestle a knife-wielding suspect to the ground outside a residence in Orange County. The dog was let out of a police vehicle after the suspect threw a punch at a lone officer, and that was enough to defuse the matter.

Tony Mann, 31, approached the driveway of a Newburgh, Orange County, home on Nov. 24, 2019. Resident Randy Martinez, 23, told the Times Herald-Record that Mann appeared to be on drugs; he was dancing around, making lewd hand gestures, and wielding a knife.

“I rolled down the window and was going to tell him he can’t be on my property, and then he takes out his knife, and I’m just like, ‘Oh, God, no. What’s going to happen?’” Martinez explained, adding, “I was so scared.”

Martinez was worried about his loved ones inside the home; his mother, a family friend, and Martinez’s aunt were cooking near the back door of the residence. The 23-year-old called 911, and when K-9 Officer Roman Scuadroni responded with his police dog, Lee, Martinez started filming the interaction on his cellphone.

He later uploaded the footage to Facebook, captioned: “This is not police brutality. They were doing [their] job, as this man came into my property and threatened me and my family.”

In the footage, Scuadroni approaches Mann and attempts to initiate a conversation. Mann, still dancing crazily, advances toward the officer and suddenly punches him square in the face. Scuadroni then backs off to open the rear door of the squad car to release Lee.

The K-9 immediately runs toward Mann and clamps hold of his arm as the police officer takes control of the suspect’s flailing body and wrestles him to the ground. Within seconds, several more officers arrive to assist with the arrest.

Scuadroni walked away form the altercation with minor cuts on his mouth and thumbs; Mann was taken to the St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital emergency room; he was treated for intoxication and a minor injury resulting from a dog bite from Lee.

According to Fox News, investigators reported finding a folding knife on Mann’s person. The intoxicated agitator was later arrested and charged with five misdemeanors: trespassing, third-degree assault, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, and second-degree menacing.

Martinez expressed his appreciation for the K-9 officers’ intervention. “And now they [the city] are cutting 15 police officers [in the 2020 budget],” Martinez commented, speaking to the Times Herald-Record.

“Especially in a city like this,” he reflected, “we need cops all the time.”

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After watching a cop and his K-9 sidekick subdue a potentially dangerous man, Martinez was not the only person to voice concern over the proposed 2020 Newburgh City Council budget that will, in fact, cut a grand total of 19 police positions.

In the wake of the budget announcement, Sheriff Carl DuBois assured Newburgh residents that he would explore assistance options to ensure that the Orange County city stays safe.

“Hopefully we can partner up with the State Police and maybe the Town of Newburgh and Town of New Windsor and some adjoining municipalities in a mutual aid-type system if they had some catastrophic event over there,” DuBois explained to the Mid Hudson News.

“When the bell rings the cavalry comes,” he added; “it doesn’t matter what.”