By Victor Omondi
In 2020, 24-year-old Talmika Bates almost died in a brutal encounter with a Brentwood (CA) police K-9. She was a thief suspect after thousands of dollars’ worth of cosmetics were shoplifted in a nearby mall. Video of the brutal encounter was sourced out by KUTV.
Bates, who’s now 26, is seeking damages in a legal suit, citing police negligence, among other claims.
The shoplifting happened on February 10, 2020, when a group of three women stole away $10,000 worth of cosmetics and perfumes from the store. One of the employees called the police informing them of the incident, according to a Facebook post.
The police launched a thorough search into the neighborhood. While walking along Empire Way, one of the police, Ryan Rezentes, caught a sight of Bates hiding in some bushes. The next thing was the police dog on her head, ripping her scalp open and uprooting a bunch of braids. The graphic video shows the then 24-year-old screaming in pain as the dog mauls her scalp in a bloody encounter.
Rezentes tried to “heel” the K-9 but the dog was seemingly too busy. The officer had to physically remove the dog from the woman to prevent any further injuries.
Now, Bates’ civil rights attorneys, Adante Pointer and Patrick Buelna, are seeking damages in a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit blames Rezentes for sending a German Shepherd police dog after a woman “without providing any warning or a reasonable opportunity to surrender.”
“This unbridled use of an apparent blood-thirsty dog to track, hunt, and then attack an unarmed fleeing woman as she lay in a set of bushes harkens back to the days of slavery and slave catchers,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also sheds some light on Rezentes’ police report after he “conspicuously fails to mention the fact that he permitted Marco to needlessly maul Ms. Bates or that he lost control of Marco as Marco attacked and seriously injured Ms. Bates.”
Bates was rushed to John Muir Health hospital in Walnut Creek where she received first aid before her scalp was sewed back. Now a student, she still remembers the “traumatizing” incident which greatly affected her self-esteem.
By Victor Omondi
In 2020, 24-year-old Talmika Bates almost died in a brutal encounter with a Brentwood (CA) police K-9. She was a thief suspect after thousands of dollars’ worth of cosmetics were shoplifted in a nearby mall. Video of the brutal encounter was sourced out by KUTV.
Bates, who’s now 26, is seeking damages in a legal suit, citing police negligence, among other claims.
The shoplifting happened on February 10, 2020, when a group of three women stole away $10,000 worth of cosmetics and perfumes from the store. One of the employees called the police informing them of the incident, according to a Facebook post.
The police launched a thorough search into the neighborhood. While walking along Empire Way, one of the police, Ryan Rezentes, caught a sight of Bates hiding in some bushes. The next thing was the police dog on her head, ripping her scalp open and uprooting a bunch of braids. The graphic video shows the then 24-year-old screaming in pain as the dog mauls her scalp in a bloody encounter.
Rezentes tried to “heel” the K-9 but the dog was seemingly too busy. The officer had to physically remove the dog from the woman to prevent any further injuries.
Now, Bates’ civil rights attorneys, Adante Pointer and Patrick Buelna, are seeking damages in a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit blames Rezentes for sending a German Shepherd police dog after a woman “without providing any warning or a reasonable opportunity to surrender.”
“This unbridled use of an apparent blood-thirsty dog to track, hunt, and then attack an unarmed fleeing woman as she lay in a set of bushes harkens back to the days of slavery and slave catchers,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also sheds some light on Rezentes’ police report after he “conspicuously fails to mention the fact that he permitted Marco to needlessly maul Ms. Bates or that he lost control of Marco as Marco attacked and seriously injured Ms. Bates.”
Bates was rushed to John Muir Health hospital in Walnut Creek where she received first aid before her scalp was sewed back. Now a student, she still remembers the “traumatizing” incident which greatly affected her self-esteem.
