Trial begins for officer charged with assault for use of police dog in 2020

WEST JORDAN — Jeffrey Ryans says he was moving slowly and steadily when police officers arrived at his home in April 2020, in shock when they began shining flashlights toward him.

"I was kind of just confused on what was going on," Ryans testified in court on Tuesday.

Ryans claimed he did not know there was a protective order in place prohibiting him from being at the family home, and said he was trying to keep his hands in the air to avoid trouble with the police.

He said he was bracing himself on the fence with one hand in an attempt to help lower himself to the ground, but as his left hand was pulled behind him by one officer, and his left knee hit the ground, he felt the jaws of a police K-9 sink into his leg.

Ryans told the story to a jury, who will eventually decide if the actions of the K-9's handler, Salt Lake City police officer Nickolas Pearce, amounted to assault.

Pearce, 42, of Herriman, was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. He is accused of ordering K-9 Tuco to bite Ryans on April 24, 2020, even though Ryans says he had his hands raised and was already complying during a domestic violence call.

Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Andrew Deesing said during opening arguments that Jeffrey Ryans had been living at the home for several months — although there was a protective order forbidding it, his wife was allowing him to stay in the home.

Deesing showed body camera footage of the arrest and claimed the action from Pearce was not reasonable, which he said is why it should be considered an assault.

"I'm on the ground! I'm on the ground! Why are you fighting me?" Ryans says in the footage as the dog starts to attack. Meanwhile, Pearce can be heard repeatedly telling the dog it's a "good boy."

Deesing said Ryans went through six months of physical therapy and still has no feeling in his leg below the knee.

"(Pearce) arrived as a police officer; he left as an assailant," Deesing said.

Pearce's attorney, Nathan Evershed, talked about his client's training using police K-9s for 10 years, including as an instructor. He said officers are trained to make decisions quickly, especially when dealing with people who are known to be violent.

Evershed said domestic violence is serious, and the incident police were responding to in April 2020 was a "dangerous, scary and violent scene that was single-handedly caused by Jeffrey Ryans."

Based on police regulations, Evershed argued that Ryans had to be taken into custody. He said when the dog attacked, Ryans had his hand on the fence and was crouched, in what looked like a "fight-or-flight position."

Evershed said everything continued normally until September 2020, when the media reported there was a video clip of the incident, causing an uproar and then a police investigation. He said the level of force used was reasonable, pointing out that Pearce had ordered Ryans to get to the ground at least eight times.

"No one likes to see force used, but sometimes it must be used," Evershed said. He told the jury they would understand the full context and find Pearce innocent.

Prosecutors issued a subpoena to Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown to testify in the case. He said he was "troubled and concerned" when he saw the body camera footage. Brown objected to the subpoena, and Pearce's attorneys asked for his testimony to not be used at trial. But on Dec. 23, 2023, Judge William Kendall denied their request, deciding that Brown could testify if called by the prosecutors.

"Chief Brown previously held a press conference to specifically address this and other related cases. If Chief Brown had the time to hold that press conference, then Chief Brown has the time to testify in this case if he is called to do so," the order said.

The trial began on Tuesday and is scheduled to go through Friday.

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