Ohio cops unleashed a police dog on a man who was lying on the ground with his empty hands in the air, allowing the K9 to maul him for 90 seconds – ripping apart his scrotum. “Ow, my balls, I’m sorry,” pleaded Austin Elson as he was being attacked by the dog. Three separate lawsuits ha ve been filed by three men against the Canton Police Department in Ohio for allowing their police dogs to maul non-resisting men, including Kievin Conver, pictured above. (Photo: body camera) “Did you learn your lesson today?” responded Canton police officer Jack Henderson. “Welcome to Canton,” another cop chimed in. “Your ball sack is missing,” taunted Henderson as Elson cried out in pain, and several other cops laughed. One year later, Canton police officer Nicholas Casto unleashed a police dog on another man named Fredrick Harman, who was also surrendering while down on his knees with his empty hands in the air, allowing the K9 to maul him for nearly a minute. ‘You Ain’t S—!’: San Diego Woman Aggressively Confronts Black FedEx Driver, Makes Threats — Then He Asks One Question and She Absolutely Implodes The following month, Casto unleashed his dog on a Black man named Kievin Conver, which led to the cop’s termination, but he appealed and was rehired with back pay.  Now three lawsuits have been filed in federal court on behalf of the three men, accusing the officers and the Canton Police Department of excessive force, failure to intervene, supervisory liability, and displaying a deliberate indifference when it comes to training officers.  The lawsuits were filed by the DiCello Levitt law firm, which states the following as an introduction to all three lawsuits.  In the City of Canton, ordinary citizens are being victimized by police dog deployments that recall the grainy black and white film footage of the attacks on African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, where police dogs were deployed as a tool of crowd control in the early 1960’s.  Now nearly 60 years later, the City of Canton writes a new page in the history books, as it permits the unreasonable use of police dogs in bad faith and/or in a wanton or reckless manner to rip into the bodies of defenseless citizens during their arrests, when they are subdued, under control, and/or not a threat to anyone at the time they were apprehended. Kievin Conver The first lawsuit was filed on behalf of Conver in May 2025, but an amended lawsuit was filed last month along with the other two lawsuits. The incident took place on May 30, 2024, as Canton police were detaining a group of teenagers in a car in a residential neighborhood. Conver was standing in his front yard yelling profanities at the cops when Casto decided to punish him for exercising his First Amendment right to criticize police and their K9. “Say one more thing to this dog,” Casto threatened. “You’re about to go in cuffs.” Several cops walked onto his property to arrest him and body camera video shows Conver never resisted but the cops picked him up and threw him to the ground. Three cops were on top of Conver who was facedown on the ground when Casto walked up with his police dog. The three cops then stepped back, allowing the dog to maul him for nearly a minute. “Stop resisting!” one of the cops repeated, but the video shows he was not resisting. According to the claim. Defendant K9 handler Casto allows the canine to repeatedly bite Plaintiff Conver while shaking his head back and forth, tearing into Plaintiff Conver’s arms, low back, upper thighs, and buttocks.  As the attack is underway, Defendants Yepes, Paris, and Hampton again say and do nothing.  Plaintiff Conver screams and cries out in pain until Defendant K9 Handler Casto finally pulls his canine from Conver’s wounded body. Casto was terminated the following month in June 2024 but he appealed and an arbitrator ordered him back on the job in September 2025, complete with back pay after determining Conver was the aggressor.  “Conver purposefully incited the crowd, and from the moment the K9 appeared on the scene, his disruption and provocation escalated,” wrote the arbitrator.  “He purposefully taunted the K9 to the point of frenzy, and he refused to retreat to the residence to avoid arrest when told multiple times to do so.” Watch the video below. Fredrick Harman Canton police showed up to Harman’s home on April 24, 2024, to arrest him on a warrant The cops first encountered an infant-carrying woman they also wanted to arrest. They then spotted Harman in a back bedroom and ordered him to get on his knees with his hands in the air, which he did, the claim states. Signaling he is compliant and has no weapons, Plaintiff Harman goes to his knees in front of a bed facing Defendant Momirov with his hands in the air, palms open, and that’s when Defendant K9 Handler Casto releases the canine to attack Plaintiff Harman.  As the canine takes Plaintiff Harman to the ground and begins biting and ripping into his flesh, Defendant K9 Handler Casto picks Plaintiff Harman off the ground: at this point the canine has its mouth clamped around Plaintiff’s forearm and throws its head back and forth while Plaintiff shouts in pain. Defendant K9 Handler Casto, Defendant Momirov, and another officer throw Plaintiff Harman on the bed, chest down, with the canine still ripping into Plaintiff’s arm. The canine tears into Plaintiff Harman for nearly one full minute, i.e., 52 seconds.  Plaintiff Harman cries out in pain as he has one arm behind his back while the other is in the mouth of the canine. Austin Elson Elson, whose scrotum was ripped open by a police dog, was confronted by police after they showed up to his home to arrest him on a warrant on April 30, 2023. Canton police officer Henderson was allowed inside the home, but Elson ran away when he tried to handcuff him. Canton police officer Bryan Jeffries was standing outside the house with the K9 when he began chasing him, along with Henderson, who tackled him. “Let him go, Jack!” Jeffries yelled, prompting Henderson to get off Elson to allow Jeffries to maul him with the police dog, the claim states. Defendant K9 Handler Jeffries’s canine bites and shakes his head into the groin and upper leg area of Plaintiff Elson who screams, “Ow! My balls! I’m sorry!” Rather than rendering aid or reading Plaintiff Elson his Miranda Warnings, Defendant Henderson asks Plaintiff Elson, “Did you learn your lesson today?”  Another officer who has arrived on scene, Jennifer N. Henderson, says “Welcome to Canton. Not done taunting and humiliating Plaintiff Elson, Defendant Henderson tells Plaintiff, “Your ball sack is missing,” as Plaintiff continues to cry in pain. Listed as defendants in the lawsuits are Canton Police Chief John Gabbard, Captain Les Marino, Captain John Bosley, Captain Lisa Broucker, Sgt. Shane Buie, Sgt. David Grant as well as officers Chris Heslop, Christian Paris, Kermin Yepes, Curtis Gutscher, Spencer Zernechel, Brandon Momirov and Detective J’than K. Hampton as well as Casto, Henderson and Jeffries. Momirov was fired in September 2024 for kicking a non-resisting man in the face, but he was also allowed to return to work after an arbitrator determined he only deserved a 30-day suspension, receiving back pay for several months minus the 30 days. “Defendant City has fostered and condoned a culture of violence in the Canton Police Department by failing to remove police officers and/or exercise control over city employees who restrict and/or interfere with and/or hamper the oversight activities of the Defendant Chief,” states the claims. “Defendant City of Canton has one of the highest per capita incident rates of canine deployments in the State of Ohio cities, and still, it has failed to promulgate or implement best practices regarding the deployment of canines.” In November 2024, two Canton cops were indicted after killing a Black man who told them he was unable to breathe but they responded by saying, “shut the f_ck up.”  Canton police officers Camden Burch and Beau Schoenegge remain on paid administrative leave as they prepare for their trial scheduled for April 2026. ‘Your Ball Sack Is Missing’: Malicious Ohio Cops Let K-9 Maul Non-Resisting Men While Laughing—Now Three Lawsuits Say Canton Turned Police Dogs Into a Weapon ...read more read less