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Guard pleads guilty in his dog’s attack on a Black patron at a South Jersey restaurant

Steven T. Rudy, of Virginia, has pleaded guilty in connection with a 2021 incident at the Adelphia Restaurant in Deptford, where he was accused of commanding a security dog to bite a man repeatedly.

Zachariah Rattigan, 6, waves a BLM flag while sitting on the shoulders of his father, Bradley Pennypacker, of Woodbury, as they join other protesters gathered outside the Adelphia restaurant in Deptford on Aug. 4, 2021. They wanted an apology from the restaurant's owner after a Black man was bitten by a security guard dog.
Zachariah Rattigan, 6, waves a BLM flag while sitting on the shoulders of his father, Bradley Pennypacker, of Woodbury, as they join other protesters gathered outside the Adelphia restaurant in Deptford on Aug. 4, 2021. They wanted an apology from the restaurant's owner after a Black man was bitten by a security guard dog.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

A guard charged with commanding his security dog to attack a Black patron at a popular South Jersey restaurant and nightclub has pleaded guilty in connection with the 2021 incident, court records show.

Steven T. Rudy, 34, of Virginia, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Samuel Ragonese in Gloucester County to unlawfully possessing a canine, a reduced weapons offense. He is not expected to face any prison time at sentencing next month.

Rudy, who was employed by a private, out-of-state security firm at the Adelphia Restaurant in Deptford, was charged with aggravated assault shortly after the incident.

The victim, Khalif Hunter, then 26, of Burlington City, who is Black, said he was pinned to the ground by a white guard who put his knee on Hunter’s abdomen and commanded a trained security dog to bite him repeatedly.

According to Hunter, the guard issued the dog an order — “Live bite!” — several times as Hunter was already prone and not moving. Although that was not captured on a video, Hunter said he was bitten three times on the lower right calf and once on the inner right thigh.

Protesters demonstrated in front of the restaurant for several days afterward, and civil rights leaders compared the incident to using police dogs against people of color during peaceful protests in the 1960s.

In a statement, Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County chapter of the NAACP, said, “while a court settlement is no compensation for his reputation’s pain, embarrassment, and damage, it is just dessert for the author of the dog attack and Adelphia.”

Under the plea agreement, Rudy faces 14 months’ probation and must undergo a psychological evaluation, comply with any treatment recommended by the Veterans Affairs Department, and successfully complete an anger-management program.

Rudy, who has addresses in Lorton and Franklin, Va., could not be reached for comment Thursday. Adelphia said after the incident that it had terminated its agreement with the company that employed Rudy.

Former state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal banned law enforcement officers from using canines against those resisting arrest who do not pose a threat. There was no evidence that Rudy was a sworn officer or why he was working in New Jersey.

The attack occurred in the parking lot during a scuffle between Hunter and Rudy about Hunter’s baseball cap. The restaurant’s dress code bans hats and Hunter initially refused to remove his head covering.

In a video of the episode that went viral, Hunter is seen walking away and is heard calling the officer a racist. After the incident, Hunter said he received three shots for rabies and tetanus but didn’t require stitches.

Adelphia’s attorney previously said Hunter’s medical bills would be paid by an insurance carrier.

In 2017, the NAACP condemned another episode at Adelphia involving a photo that went viral on social media showing a costume with a noose at a Halloween party. It led to a resolution “to maintain open lines of communication going forward” between civil rights officials and the restaurant.