A woman who stole thousands of dollars worth of cosmetics has won a nearly $1 million settlement from a Northern California city after a police dog bit and tore off her head while police were trying to take her into custody.
In a statement, Timothy Herbert, the chief of police in the eastern Contra Costa County city of Brentwood, defended the officer who handled the dog that day, saying his actions were justified. The chief said the city has decided to settle the lawsuit to avoid further lawsuits and legal fees.
Brentwood city officials agreed to pay Talmika Bates $967,000 for the 2020 incident, which left the then 24-year-old woman with severe dog bites and lacerations to her scalp.
“Oh, my God, please get your dog,” Bates was heard shouting on the body camera video of the incident as Brentwood Police Officer Ryan Rezentes pulled the dog’s leash. “My whole skin is gone.”
According to the original complaint, Brentwood police were dispatched to Ulta Beauty Supply, a cosmetics store, on February 10, 2020, after an employee reported three women had stolen several items.
According to to the Brentwood Police DepartmentBates, who was on probation, and two other women had stolen $10,000 worth of merchandise from the store and fled in the car. Officers tried to stop the car, but the driver crashed into their patrol car and the Three women tried to escape on foot.
Officers found Bates hiding in a field behind bushes.
The lawsuit alleges Rezentes turned his K-9, a German shepherd named Marco, on Bates without giving a warning or giving her a chance to surrender.
The dog bit and gnawed Bates’ scalp, the lawsuit alleges, and ignored Bates and Rezentes’ attempts to stop the attack.
“Officer Rezentes had to physically remove the dog from Ms. Bates’ head,” the complaint reads.
Lawyers for Bates claim that Rezentes lost control of the dog when it bit off parts of Bates’ scalp and ignored commands to obey.
Another officer stood next to Rezentes during the incident with a gun drawn and tried to reassure Rezentes video from the body-worn camera.
“Don’t worry, I won’t shoot your dog,” he is heard saying.
After a minute, the two officers ordered Bates to stand up, handcuffed her and scolded her for running away.
“As she emerged from the bushes, the assembled officers could see large pieces of Ms. Bates’ scalp being torn from her head, exposing bone and tissue,” the complaint said.
Surgeons reattached Bates’ scalp, but the suit claims she still suffers from headaches, memory loss and depression as a result of the incident.
Attorneys for Bates did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When asked for comment, Rezentes’ lawyers pointed to the police chief’s statement.
Bates pleaded guilty to grand larceny and resisting a police officer, court records show.
Lawyers for Bates alleged that Rezentes lied in his police report and falsely claimed he did not have cover from another officer so he could safely recall the dog as it attacked Bates.
In his statement, Herbert defended the officer’s actions and pointed out that the court had ruled that the officer had lawfully used the dog to search for the suspects.
Herbert said his officers had no way of knowing if Bates was armed, adding that she had ignored officers’ orders to surrender.
However, the court had also ruled that there was potential liability in relation to the duration of the dog’s attack.
The police department now has no working canines, Herbert said.
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