Police Dog Destroys Woman’s Scalp, California Victim Sues

A 24-year-old woman who was attacked by a dog is now suing the Brentwood Police Department and the City of Brentwood, after the incident removed parts of her scalp.

In February 2020, Talmika Bates and two others were suspected of stealing $10,000 worth of cosmetics from a beauty store in Brentwood. Police responded to the theft around noon of February 10, but then the three drove off in a Nissan Murano and hid from police. 

When officers found her, they reportedly ordered their German shepherd– Marco– to attack her. The handler apparently did this without warning, which KTVU notes is in violation of the dog’s training and the law.

Bates could be heard screaming for over a minute, until body-camera footage showed her emerging from her hiding spot in the bushes. According to The Washington Post, it was at this point where the woman exposed a graphic head wound. She also appeared to be on the phone with her mother during the incident.

Additionally, despite Bates’ cries of pain, Officer Ryan Rezentes apparently “stood by and watched his canine viciously maul the young victim,” states the lawsuit. The suit also states that the injury resulted in exposed “bone and tissue” on the woman’s head.

“The dog’s biting me… My whole brain is bleeding,” Bates is heard saying on the footage. The body cameras also show that the police eventually tried to get the dog off of her. She told an officer that she hadn’t expected a dog to bite her, and was met with an officer’s response: “Well, you shouldn’t run from the police.”

Bates was later transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek for emergency medical care. While surgeons were able to reattach her scalp, she claims that hair in the area has never grown back. She also claims to suffer from headaches, memory loss, anxiety, and depression.

She ultimately pleaded guilty to her grand theft felony charge and resisting a police officer, then resolved her criminal case. Records show that she’s spent 120 days in jail and is on probation for a year, but her restitution amount is yet to be set.

Bates, now 26, is seeking monetary damages. She alleges that Rezentes had used excessive force and violated her constitutional rights. One of Bates’ lawyers, Adante Pointer, states that “This is an example of the way in which police do not look at Black and Brown people, or criminal suspects, as humans… Instead, they are numb to… the pain their use of excessive force causes.”

In another statement, Pointer also describes historical parallels to the incident, saying, “it looks like, to me, what you would imagine and what you’ve seen in movies and documentaries as it relates to the way in which slave catchers would unleash these vicious animals on Black people.”

This happens in the midst of police dog use coming under fire, with reports like one by the Marshall Project claiming that dogs are frequently used on those who are unarmed and suspected of nonviolent crimes. Findings also point out that dogs are frequently used on those who are suspected of no crimes at all.

Bates’ other lawyer, Patrick Buelna, delves further into the victim’s experiences in the New York Post: “Talmika says she still has nightmares of the dog grinding and chewing on her head. She says that she felt like she was going to die that day and really did not believe she’d live to tell her story, but is alive and thankful.”

Bates and her attorneys also speculate that Rezentes attempted to cover up some of the details, claiming in the police report that he didn’t have a cover officer and therefore had difficulty physically removing the dog. The attorneys claim that videos show another officer at the scene, reassuring that the German shepherd would not be shot.

In an article by KRON4, Bates claims that if she hadn’t been on the phone with her mother, “I would have died. I would have closed my eyes.” She’s additionally grateful that her mother doesn’t have to try and explain the situation, and that she can explain it herself.