A video circulating on social media appeared to show a uniformed Metropolitan Police Department officer kicking a police dog.
The video was posted Tuesday night on the Facebook page for LVEI, short for Las Vegas Emergency Incidents and shows what was described as a police response in the area of Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway.
The 35-second clip shows a woman with her hands up as the camera pans to an officer forcefully struggling with the barking dog he was handling before striking it twice with his right leg or foot. The officer then walks with the dog toward the front of a police vehicle before the camera pans back to the woman and the video ends.
A Metro spokesperson said in an email Thursday the department was aware of the incident but did not answer questions about whether police were investigating.
”LVMPD is aware of the incident depicted in the video,” the department said.
The video had nearly 150 comments, more than 175 “likes” and was shared more than 85 times as of Thursday morning. Many of the comments accused the officer of mistreating the canine and tagged Metro’s Facebook page.
“@LVMPD WHY is that K9 Officer being KICKED by his handler?!” Facebook user Brittany Rodriguez commented on the post. Her comment as of Thursday was reacted to by 67 other users, the most of any comments left on the post.
The LVEI page posted a zoomed in version of the video Wednesday and told followers it had forwarded the video to Metro and requested the department investigate the actions of the officer.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.
