TWO men sued the NYPD when they were bitten by a police dog.
A justifiable law suit, you might think, except the two men were burglary suspects who were trying to escape, say the police.
The two men, however, against whom burglary charges were later dropped, told a different story. Emmanuel Blake and William Bryant, told a New York court that police had pinned them face-down and had then ordered the German shepherd to "get" them. The German shepherd, called DJ, allegedly did just that and bit the pair.
Bryant, 19, was bitten in the right leg; Blake, 22, in the face, neck and both arms in the incident which happened in Brooklyn in 2004.
Yesterday (July 27, 2007) a Manhattan federal court jury rejected their claim
City lawyer Frances Sand said the city was pleased that jurors "recognized that there was no excessive force, no assault and no battery in this case and that the three officers involved acted properly."
Blake and Bryant plan to appeal, said their lawyer, Andrew Stoll.
He said police were using dogs "to accomplish tasks that could be accomplished in much less harmful ways."
DJ has since retired from police work.
Comments
What a cheek taking the police to court, even if these two were innocent. They must have been acting suspiciously to have been stopped.