Tourist bitten by police dog after officers gave confusing Spanish commands awarded over $200K: Reports

A Mexican tourist visiting Colorado was awarded more than $200,000 after he was attacked by a police dog while officers gave nonsensical Spanish-language warnings, according to local reports.

The incident happened three years ago while the victim was renting a room in Aurora. 

‘Fart police, fart the wood’ 

Dig deeper:

On March 2, 2023, Aurora police arrived to serve an arrest warrant for drug charges against a man who was renting a room in the same home where Salvador Alonso Guerrero-Salmeron was staying, according to KDVR.

During the SWAT operation, officers used a loudspeaker to direct people who were in the home to come out.

Guerrero-Salmeron, who had just woken up, did not understand the commands which were announced in both English and poorly pronounced Spanish, The Denver Post reported. 

What they're saying:

Aurora police tried to warn residents of the home that a police dog was present, but whatever they said in Spanish did not translate as such, according to court documents obtained by The Post. 

The officers’ Spanish translated roughly to, "fart police, fart the wood. We have a police fart, entrance wood," KDVR reported. 

Despite arresting the man who was the subject of the warrant, officers proceeded to allow their police dog to bite Guerrero-Salmeron, who was unarmed.

The backstory:

Guerrero-Salmeron, a musician, was visiting Colorado on a tourist visa at the time of the incident.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from reporting by The Denver Post and KDVR. This story was reported from San Jose.