City of San Jose Will Pay $1.6M to Victim of Serious K-9 Dog Bite

The City of San Jose has consented to pay $1.6 million to a man accused of helping his girlfriend steal tequila. According to the lawsuit, police officers sicced a K-9 dog on him, and the dog bit his neck for over one minute. This is the second-highest K-9 dog bite award in the State of California.

The city council agreed to the settlement amount, which will be paid to the San Jose plaintiff. During the attack, the victim’s windpipe was “shredded” and his thyroid cartilage was fractured as the dog latched onto his neck for 60 seconds. Only one dog bite lawsuit in California yielded a higher amount of money, and in that case, the victim died. This makes the settlement award the largest non-fatal award in a dog bite lawsuit in the State of California. An attorney for the plaintiff said that he hoped it was enough to force San Jose to make serious reforms.

The third-highest K-9 settlement award was $1.35 million. It was paid to a plaintiff who had a chunk of his calf bitten off by a police dog. Meanwhile, the fourth-highest settlement award was paid to another plaintiff who had a chunk of her scalp ripped off by a police dog.

According to a KTVU investigation, from 2018 to 2022, San Jose deployed more K-9s than any other law enforcement agency in the Bay Area. Over a 5-year period, there were 167 bites doled out by San Jose K-9 units.

In the case mentioned above, San Jose police sent a K-9 to bite the plaintiff, who had fled from a Safeway on Feb. 7, 2020, after his girlfriend was accused of stealing $350 worth of tequila. He ran away from the police and jumped into a garbage can to hide. San Jose police deployed a German Shepherd named Tex to go get him.

Body camera footage worn by a San Jose officer showed the encounter in graphic detail. You could see blood covering the plaintiff’s face as the dog “thrashed its head side-to-side.” Tex bit the plaintiff for an estimated 60 seconds. The dog’s handler was ultimately kicked off the K-9 unit, according to federal lawsuit documents.

One of the allegations made against the dog indicated that Tex “failed to respond” to verbal commands at least 22 times in the past, despite the fact that his handler swore in court that Tex had “never failed to release a bite in the field.”

Such lawsuits are becoming increasingly common. Police deploy a K-9 unit to apprehend a suspect, and the dog ends up employing excessive force against a victim. In this case, the dog literally went for the jugular. The victim is lucky to be alive.

Talk to an Oakland Dog Bite Lawyer Today 

Venardi Zurada represents the interests of individuals who have been bitten by dogs. Call our Oakland personal injury lawyers today, and we can begin preparing your lawsuit immediately.

Source:

ktvu.com/news/san-jose-pay-1-6m-after-k-9-bites-mans-neck-1-minute