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WILKES-BARRE — A homeless man hospitalized after a police K-9 bit him during a raucous arrest on Public Square last week says he did nothing to provoke the attack, while a police report suggests he was vulgar and combative.
Joshua Jade Fought, 43, remained the subject of an active arrest warrant Tuesday on charges of public drunkenness, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct stemming from the incident caught on video last week by one of several onlookers who flocked to where a police officer struggled to take Fought into custody.
In the resulting confrontation, Fought was bitten on the hip by the K-9 and taken to a local hospital, police said. Cellphone footage of the attack went viral on social media this week, amassing more than 18,000 views as of Tuesday.
In the sometimes-unstable recording taken from a distance by a bystander, a man can be seen face down on the ground, with one hand cuffed, as a dog appears to clamp its jaw on the man and pull him. Screaming and sirens give way to the sound of an officer repeatedly ordering Fought to put his uncuffed hand behind his back as other officers arrive.
Many who viewed the post expressed outrage at the show of force, while others believed Fought was at fault for allegedly ignoring the officer’s orders. Police, in their report of the incident, later said Fought had been drunk and disorderly.
Fought, who did not return multiple messages from the Times Leader seeking comment Tuesday, said on social media Friday that he was attacked “for no good reason.”
“(The officer) then released the dog on me,” Fought wrote in the post. “I had never even left the spot I was sitting in, let alone ‘resist arrest.’ The K9 preceded to thrash my lower back while on my side for what felt like 5 minutes straight, maybe more or less. The only thing I remember during the attack (besides the pain), is towards the end, the officer ordering me ‘get on your stomach,’ which I physically couldn’t do.”
Police, however, said Fought had been breaking the law.
According to an affidavit:
City police officer Joseph Homza observed Fought and a woman attempt to conceal beer cans on Public Square on July 18. As Homza asked the pair for identification, another woman approached the K-9, evoking barks and prompting Fought to yell at the officer that the officer didn’t have control of the dog.
A crowd was drawn to the scene as Fought became increasingly agitated and ignored Homza’s orders to calm down. After Fought told Homza he “wouldn’t be sticking around” if he had active warrants and then began packing his backpack, Homza called for a prisoner transport. The officer commanded the K-9 to sit as he tried to place Fought under arrest.
Homza cuffed Fought around the left wrist, but Fought turned around toward the officer and tried to stand up.
In the ensuing struggle, the K-9 “released from the down position as trained and assisted in apprehending Fought.” The K-9 bit and barked at Fought as Homza was ordering Fought to put his other arm behind his back, but the dog had not yet “fully engaged” the struggling Fought.
Fought, meanwhile, continued to battle Homza and ignored his commands. The K-9 then “engaged Fought above the right hip,” but Fought still refused to remove his arm from under his torso and screamed for Homza to call off the dog.
“Fought was rigid, pulling away, and unresponsive to physical force,” the affidavit states.
Fought eventually was cuffed and taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for his injuries, police said.
On social media, Fought said he underwent surgery and is out of the hospital. He added that he will require another procedure next week. His location is unknown.
Court records show Fought has been cited numerous times in Luzerne and Columbia counties for public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and open containers, and has pleaded guilty to DUI and simple assault.