A Broward Sheriff's Office K-9 bit 36-year-old Fricost Jerome's ankle during his arrest in Pompano Beach, and the moment — caught on video by a bystander — has since circulated widely online. Jerome's family says they haven't seen him since, and they're demanding to know what happened to him and why force escalated the way it did.
The arrest happened near Northwest Third Avenue and Northwest 12th Court in Pompano Beach, where bystander video shows the K-9 biting Jerome's ankle as deputies attempted to take him into custody, according to CBS Miami. Jerome's relatives say they are concerned about his condition and have not been able to see him since the incident. The confrontation stemmed from a report that Jerome went inside a maintenance shed at an apartment complex and took a toolbox, according to NBC6 South Florida, citing an arrest report.
Toolbox, a Box Cutter, and a Call to 911
An Atlantic Palms Apartments employee called deputies on Sunday after reporting that Jerome had taken the toolbox from the shed, per the seed reporting cited by CBS Miami. The property manager told investigators that Jerome threatened her with a box cutter when confronted, and NBC6's report notes she said she was scared because of the situation but stepped back and called 911. Deputies say Jerome did not follow their commands before they arrested him, the station's report adds.
Broward Sheriff's Office spokesperson Veda Coleman-Wright said district deputies, along with K-9 and aviation units, responded to a report of an armed robbery in progress. Jerome now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed burglary and resisting arrest without violence, consistent with the charges cited by both CBS Miami and NBC6.
Family Says Jerome's Mental Illness Was Overlooked
Sheila Burke, a relative of Jerome's, said he has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She said the incident devastated her and was uncalled for, and she believes deputies may not have recognized that Jerome did not understand what was happening to him during the encounter. Burke asked what training exists for dealing with mentally ill people in these kinds of confrontations, and she said Jerome has a family that loves him and will support him.
Court documents reviewed by NBC6 show that a judge dismissed a separate 2026 case against Jerome because he was found incompetent due to mental illness. Jerome's family went to BSO headquarters seeking details about his whereabouts and medical condition, but they were unable to get that information from the agency, according to the same NBC6 account.
What the Video Shows, and the Conflicting Spelling of His Name
Cellphone video reviewed by WSVN shows the K-9 grabbing Jerome's foot while deputies appeared to handcuff and subdue him. That station spells his first name as Friscost rather than Fricost, a discrepancy that has not been resolved across the available reporting.
Coleman-Wright said K-9 apprehensions require that the suspect receive medical treatment, and that the use of force is reported to supervisors and thoroughly documented for an administrative review. The Broward Sheriff's Office reviews all use-of-force incidents through that same administrative process, she said.
What Florida Law Says About Police K-9s
Florida law defines a police canine as a dog owned or employed by a law-enforcement or correctional agency primarily to detect criminal activity, enforce laws or apprehend offenders, according to the Florida Legislature. Under a separate statute, a person is not justified in using or threatening force to resist an arrest or detention when the officer is acting in good faith and is known or reasonably appears to be law enforcement, per the Florida Legislature's text of Florida Statute 776.051.
Florida law also sets out penalties tied to interactions with police dogs: intentionally and knowingly causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or death to a police canine, or using a deadly weapon against one, is a second-degree felony, while maliciously harassing, teasing or interfering with a police canine performing its duties is a first-degree misdemeanor, according to the same statute.
