A former St. Paul, Minnesota officer was sentenced to six years in prison by a federal court judge on Friday, May 21, for using excessive force against an unarmed civilian during a 2016 arrest involving a K-9. Brett Palkowitsch, 31, had previously been found guilty of kicking and injuring then-52-year-old Frank Baker as another officer was allowing a police dog to maul Baker’s leg. After a jury found Palkowitsch guilty of a civil rights violation in November 2019, he apologized for his use of excessive force and waived the right to appeal his conviction. The hearing was delayed due to the pandemic because Palkowitsch had not consented to a video hearing.