From [HERE] Ordering a police dog to bite a person doesn't necessarily constitute excessive force, but siccing a K-9 on a person for a long time does, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled. 

That was Monday's decision by U.S. District Court Judge Rita Lin in the case of Tamilka Bates vs. Brentwood police officer Ryan Rezentes, whose dog Marco clamped down on the young woman's scalp for roughly a minute as she hid in the bushes after allegedly shoplifting cosmetics from a nearby Ulta store. The store had insurance against theft.

Lin said it was OK that Rezentes had his dog bite Bates in February 2020. But she ruled that the officer cannot claim qualified immunity in this case, specifically citing the duration and the location of the dog bite that left Bates with traumatic brain injury.

The head is a "uniquely vulnerable part of the body," the judge wrote. 

The judge's order also noted that Rezentes did not give any warning that he had a K-9, allowing Bates to surrender, and he had not officially given Marco any command before the dog began biting Bates, who was hiding in the bushes. 

According to the complaint:

On February 10, 2020, at approximately 12:40 p.m., off-duty Brentwood Police Officer Ryan Rezentes and his Czech Republic trained German Sheppard “Marco” responded to a call for service to help locate three suspected shoplifters. Officer Rezentes deployed his police canine, “Marco,” and searched a field near Empire Way in Brentwood, CA.

Officer Rezentes’ was directed to take Marco and search a clump of bushes in the field. Without providing any warning or a reasonable opportunity to come out the bushes, Officer Rezentes commanded Marco to go into the bushes where the German Sheppard located Ms. Bates and immediately sunk its teeth into the unarmed woman’s head. Officer Rezentes ignored Ms. Bates’ chilling screams as he stood by and watched his canine viciously maul the young victim. Finally, the Officer began commanding the canine to “heel” in German. The dog ignored the commands while Ms. Bates continued to scream and beg for her life as the dog continued its attack. Nearly one minute later, Officer Rezentes once again command his dog to heel —yet again, the dog ignored his handler’s commands. Ms. Bates continued to cry out for her mother while pleading with the Officers to make the dog stop.

Officer Rezentes eventually came to the obvious conclusion that he had lost control of his attack animal and inexplicably yelled at Ms. Bates to “do something!” The Officer finally went into the bushes and physically removed the dog’s bite from Ms. Bates’ scalp. After over a minute of being attacked by the rogue animal, Ms. Bates was left laying on the ground mangled and paralyzed with fear.

Officers Rezentes and Lou yelled at Ms. Bates to stand up, an impossible task, as leaves and twigs scraped against her open head wounds. Eventually, Officer Lou helped Ms. Bates to her feet and placed her in handcuffs. The Officers berated Ms. Bates for running from police as if getting her head bit and mauled by a vicious canine was a lawful and appropriate punishment for her crimes.

As she emerged from the bushes, the assembled Officers could see large chunks of Ms. Bates’ scalp were ripped from her head, exposing bone and tissue. 15. In an apparent effort to cover-up this shocking display of police brutality, Officer Rezentes failed to include significant facts from his official police report detailing the encounter. In his report, Officer Rezentes claims that he did not have the benefit of a cover officer which prevented him from physically removing the dog from gnawing on Ms. Bates’ head. However, Brentwood Police Officer Lou’s body worn camera (BWC) proves this is patently false. In fact, the BWC clearly showed that he was standing next to Officer Rezentes with his gun drawn while reassuring Officer Rezentes, “Don't worry, I won’t shoot your dog.” Indeed, Officer Rezentes knowingly omitted the multiple failed attempts to get his canine to release its potentially deadly grip. Officer Rezentes failed to mention that Marco was out of control. 16. Following this tragic event, Ms. Bates was transported to John Muir Medical Center Walnut Creek for emergency medical care. Fortunately, surgeons were able to reattach her scalp however, Ms. Bates continues to suffer from headaches, memory loss and depression as a result of the horrific experience.[MORE]

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent holds that excessive duration of a K-9 bite, or officers improperly encouraging a continued attack, could constitute excessive force and a constitutional violation, Lin wrote, "regardless of whether the initial dog bite was justified." 

"Viewing the facts in Bates' favor, a reasonable jury could conclude that Rezentes violated the Fourth Amendment by allowing his dog to hold its bite on Bates' head for 40 seconds after she indicated her surrender," Line wrote. "A reasonable jury could conclude that the government's intrusion was severe." 

The judge's decision was a procedural hurdle that Bates and her legal team, Lawyers for the People, were thrilled to overcome, as now a jury can decide the case on its merits.

Adante Pointer, Bates' attorney, said the ruling is also significant as it puts K-9 use "under a microscope" as police dog bites are finally undergoing more scrutiny from the public and politicians.

"It's a big deal," Pointer said Wednesday.

The city of Brentwood did not immediately respond to the ruling, though Pointer said he expected them to appeal it.

The city also did not say whether Rezentes was still employed with the department, or if any police policies had changed since the brutal attack on Bates, that exposed her bloody scalp and caused her years of physical and emotional pain.

The judge's ruling also outlined a second-by-second play of what had occurred.

After 16 seconds, Bates shouts, "Oh my God, please get your dog. I'm coming out. I'm coming out, please get your dog," according to body camera from the scene.Rezentes tells her to crawl out to him.

"But your dog's biting me," Bates cries out. 

Thirty seconds into the video, Rezentes crouches inside the bush, next to Bates, who is screaming, "My whole brain!"

Pictures from that day show her scalp has literally been ripped off her head. 

For another 30 seconds, Bates calls out for her "mama." 

Fifty-six seconds into the footage, Rezentes says, "Marco pust," which means release. 

He repeats that command five seconds later.

Just after the one-minute mark, Rezentes removes Marco.  

"Furthermore," Lin wrote, "a reasonable jury could conclude that Rezentes could see from his vantage point that the dog was biting Bates' head about 30 seconds after the bite, and thus that he needed to intervene as soon as reasonably possible, rather than waiting another 25-30 seconds to attempt a further release command."