Brickbat: Take a Bite out of Crime

A judge has sentenced former Antioch, California, police officer Morteza Amiri to seven years in prison for violating a bicyclist’s civil rights by ordering his K-9 to bite the man unnecessarily, falsifying a police report about the incident, and wire fraud. In the attack, Amiri approached a man for not having a light on his bicycle, punched him, knocked him to the ground, and then commanded the dog to bite him, causing severe injuries. According to federal prosecutors, Amiri routinely sicced his K-9 on suspects unnecessarily and “kept a running bite count that he celebrated with other officers.” In this particular instance, he shared photos of the victim’s wounds in text messages and joked that “gory pics are for personal stuff.” In a separate trial, a jury found Amiri guilty of paying someone to complete a college degree for him so he could get a pay raise.