Jury awards $1.1 million to man bit by police dog while rescuing cat
HALF MOON BAY — A man who was bitten by a police dog while trying to rescue a friend’s cat at a construction site two years ago was awarded $1.1 million Tuesday by a federal civil jury, which ruled that San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputies used excessive force in deploying the animal.
“This verdict sends a strong message to law enforcement that a police canine is a severe use of force that should be reserved for serious crimes, where officers are truly in immediate danger,” plaintiff attorney Michael Haddad said in a statement. “The community will not tolerate reckless use of a police canine like we saw here.”
The Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday continued to back its deputies.
“While we certainly respect the judicial system, we are very disappointed in the final result,” the agency said in a statement to this news organization. “Sheriff (Carlos) Bolanos supports the actions of the involved deputies.”
The jury award was issued after two days of deliberations over the case of 64-year-old Richard Earl May Jr., who entered a fenced construction site near Bloom Lane the night of New Year’s Day 2015 to help his 73-year-old friend retrieve her cat Domino. The feline was heard meowing from inside a building on the grounds, and they could find neither security guards on site nor a reachable phone number.
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/06/14/jury-awards-1-1-million-to-man-bit-by-police-dog-while-rescuing-cat/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Would have been picking police dog outta his teeth.
He's a mean crazy freak.
