India, Feb. 7 -- The US Marshals Service is defending one of its agents after a video showing a deputy kicking a small dog during a federal operation in Memphis spread across social media. According to reports, the agent was part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a federal law enforcement initiative launched by the Trump administration last summer.

The video, recorded by a resident of an apartment complex and later posted on social media, shows several federal agents conducting an operation alongside a K-9 unit. As a small dog runs toward the agents while barking, one deputy marshal steps forward and kicks the animal away.

The dog appears significantly smaller than the law enforcement K-9 and does not appear to physically obstruct the age...