Sterling Heights Police K9 Officer Acted Properly During Arrest
Supended Sterling Heights police officer James Sribniak, left, interacts his attorney, Arthury Weiss, while seated next to suspended officer Jack Currie, second from left, and his attorney, Dan Garon, at their preliminary examination Tuesday in 39th District Court in Roseville.
The head of the Sterling Heights police K9 unit and a nationally certified dog–handler trainer testified Tuesday that a Sterling Heights canine officer and his dog acted appropriately during an arrest of a man in Roseville.
Officer Jeremey Walleman said on the witness stand in 39th District Court in Roseville that officer James Sribniak handled his dog, “Dusty,” within the guidelines of his training in February 2024 when Dusty bit Garry (also Gary) Young in the hip during an arrest following a vehicular chase.
Sribniak and officer Jack Currie, both of whom are suspended, are charged with one count of misconduct in office, punishable by up to five years in jail, and assault with a dangerous weapon, punishable by up to four years for the incident. Currie is charged with aiding and abetting.
Walleman, who testified as an expert for the defense, said the bite was needed to help try to corral Young and fell short of deadly force, meaning it did not involve a deadly weapon.
“He (Young) was significantly resisting to the point he was actively resisting our officers,” Walleman, who viewed video of the incident, said under questioning by defense attorney Arthur Weiss. “He wasn’t complying at all.”
Walleman also said that Young’s actions prior to and the reasons for his detainment — including his fleeing police and driving dangerously — should be taken into account in determining whether use of force was proper.
“I feel this an acceptable use of force for this situation,” he said.
Young testified in July his injuries from the alleged assault include the bite in the right hip, brain bleeding, vision problems due to a broken blood vessel in his eye and PTSD, for which he is receiving counseling. He said his memory has been impacted.
Walleman testified on the fifth day of the preliminary examination in the case being prosecuted by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
Complaining witness Garry Young testifies in July in 39th District in Roseville at the preliminary examination for suspended Sterling Heights police officers Jacke Currie and James Sribniak, who are accused of excessive force in Young's arrest.
The hearing was expected to conclude Tuesday afternoon, at which time Judge Alyia Hakim may have ruled on whether the case should be forwarded to the trial court, Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens, for a resolution. Hakim also could delay her decision and ask for legal briefs to be filed.
Walleman has been a police officer for 20 years, a K9 officer seven years and the head of the unit for over a year. He is certified by the United States Police Canine Association and conducts weekly officer and dog training for typically 10 to 12 dogs and handlers from at least five area police departments, he explained.
He trained Sribniak and Dusty before became a certified instructor sometime after the February 2024 incident, he said.
Sribniak became a K9 officer in October or November 2023, he said.
Walleman is the third Sterling Heights officer to back one or both men in their actions.
Retired Sterling Heights officer Darren Steele, who is an expert in police K9 handling and was involved in the training of Sribniak and Dusty, testified in July that Sribniak acted appropriately. Sterling Heights police Lt. Jason Bisdorf of Internal Affairs, who investigated the case, testified in July the officers acted reasonably and did not violate department policy.
The incident began about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 25, 2024 when Sribniak attempted to pull over Young in a blue Jeep Compass at a 15 Mile and Moravian roads apartment complex in Sterling Heights upon a report he had assaulted his girlfriend and her daughter there. Young failed to comply with commands and sped away, leading police on a high-speed, seven-mile chase during which one tire was deflated by stop sticks deployed by officers. Young ignored five or six red traffic signals, drove over the center line and two more tires deflated at the end of the chase at Gratiot Avenue and Interstate 94.
Young, who is Black, testified he fled because he was worried about white officers who were pointing guns at him.
“It was dark,” Young testified. “Guns drawn on me, Black guy, dark place, 4 in the morning.”
Walleman noted Young’s reaching inside the vehicle while ignoring officer commands could have been interpreted by officers that he was reaching for a weapon.
He said when was Young was driving out of the parking lot, he appeared to try to strike one of the officers.
When the chase ended on a grassy berm, Walleman said Young exited from the passenger side of his vehicle, away from approaching officers, “to gain an advantageous position to flee or resist” officers, before the incident accelerated into a physical altercation that involved several police representatives.
Walleman pointed out when Dusty bit Young, Sribniak had full control of Dusty because he had “maximum control” of the dog and could direct the dog to bite Young in a “non-vital” part of the body.
In a separate incident In 2019, Walleman’s wrongful arrest of 18-year-old Logan Davis near a submarine-sandwich shop where he worked while waiting for his father to pick him up led to the city settling a lawsuit by Davis for $265,000.
Originally Published: September 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM EDT
