California man whose throat was torn apart by the police dog granted $ 1.6 million

For about a minute, a dog from the San José police department tore the neck of an aggressor without hesitation.

An officer was unleashed the K-9 on the man sought after as part of the alcohol flight of a local grocery store, according to court documents.

A few seconds from the arrest, however, its manager failed to contain and master his partner K-9. Other officers begged him to repress the dog, named Tex, who continued his assault despite the verbal commandments to stop, a physical release maneuver and unsuccessful use of a shock collar, according to court documents.

After 60 seconds, Tex finally unlocked his grip on Anthony Paredes, resident of the County of Santa Clara, who shouted while blood gushes from his head and his neck during the attack, court documents and video camera shows.

Paredes, who finds it difficult to speak five years after the attack, continued the city of San José; his police service; Two canine officers, Michael Jeffrey and Kyle Alleman; And agent Bret Hatzenbuhler for excessive force and a violation of his civil rights.

At the end of last month, the municipal council chose not to fight the trial. Instead, its 11 members voted unanimously for a settlement of $ 1.6 million at a meeting of the board of directors on March 25.

“You cannot cancel what has been done to my client, but it is a substantial regulation,” said Paredes lawyer Izaak Schwaiger. “There is something sweet in the police who must pay Anthony after having had to take their blows.”

The San José police department said he would not comment on questions “associated with disputes”. Representatives of the mayor’s offices and the city district prosecutor did not respond to requests for information.

The incident which led to the regulation of $ 1.6 million took place on February 7, 2020. The girlfriend of Paredes, who was not appointed, entered a Safeway grocery store in San José while he was on the other side of the street by collecting a check.

Inside the store, she tried to steal alcohol and was seized by a store security guard, according to court documents.

PARDES saw the incident and rushed to the store entrance, then fled when a store clerk called the police, according to the documents.

As described in court documents, a police distributor classified the event as a strong flight of the arm, which means that no weapon was used – but the five police officers who answered the call thought that Paredes was armed with a kind of “blade weapon”.

Schwaiger thinks that a safeway employee made a “false statement” that Paredes had threatened to cut him. He said that no security video presented to the court had supported such a complaint.

While the police arrived in Safeway, Paredes tried to hide in a neighboring neighborhood. A voice of a surveillance helicopter implored Paredes to surrender, but court documents show that it has hidden for about 45 minutes.

A helicopter observer finally saw a parent jump in a plastic trash can.

Officer Jeffrey initially released Tex to locate PARDES, according to documents. When the dog found the garbage correct, the police finally overthrew it.

It was then that Paredes shouted: “Very good!” Three times and Jeffrey withdrew the bark’s box and ordered Tex de Mordre, according to court documents.

The animal has set itself with the head and neck of relatives, documents and video of the body camera.

Schwaiger said that although dogs can be trained to take one end, in this case, the K-9 hung on to the first part of the bare body to emerge, which was his head and his neck.

“We must remember that it is an animal designed to kill,” said Schwaiger. “It’s a weapon.”

In a few seconds, the police shouted: “Mike (Jeffrey), getting him out”, while Jeffrey continued to shout, “Out!” To bring the animal to release its jaws, according to court documents. When the verbal orders failed, Jeffrey tried to pull the dog by his collar. During this process, the body of relatives was thrown into the air.

The police continued to beg Jeffrey to stop Tex, in particular by imploring him to activate a shock collar. This effort failed because the necklace had been dislodged, according to documents.

Video sequences have shown that Paredes had been detained during a good part of the attack, the officers binding his hands and legs.

Civil prosecution claims that Paredes has undergone several bruises and broken bones, including a broken hyoid bone, which is at the front of the neck, and a partially crushed vertebra. He also underwent damage to cartilage and nerves of the neck, preventing the member of the choir from singing.

Ultimately, Paredes pleaded guilty of being an accomplice with his girlfriend. Schwaiger blamed the county district prosecutor for accepting a plea instead of fighting for his client.

However, it is satisfied with “substantial regulations” and thinks that San José should re -examine its use of police dogs in attack scenarios.

“My hope is,” he said, “that it will hurt quite badly in the wallet and will force change.”

An analysis of Fox 2 San Francisco in July 2022 have found that the San José police dogs represented 187 bites over a period of five years, most of all the law enforcement agencies of the Bay Area law.

In 2024, the city in northern California of Brentwood paid $ 967,000 to a display thief who suffered serious dogs of dogs and cuts to his scalp.

A resident of the County of Los Angeles also filed a complaint last year against the Sheriff Department when one of his dogs hugged.