“I hope that the case for the family brings some closure for something that is a long time coming,” said Griff Sikes, an attorney representing the family.
The family of an Alabama man who was killed by a Montgomery police dog has settled a federal lawsuit with the animal’s handler, but have said they plan to appeal a ruling that absolved the city of responsibility.
According to The Associated Press, the family’s agreement with Officer Nicholas Barber was finalized last month. The details of the settlement are confidential, and attorneys for both parties have not offered any substantive insight into its provisions.
The victim, 50-year-old Joseph Pettaway, died in 2018 while sleeping inside of a “small house.” He did not live in the building, but was employed there as a handyman. Officers arrived at the location after receiving reports of an unknown or unauthorized occupant.
Barber, the Pettaway family’s attorney said, released his police dog almost immediately upon arrival. It quickly discovered Pettaway and bit his groin, severing the man’s femoral artery.
Montgomery officers moved Pettaway outside and requested an ambulance, but autopsy reports indicate that he died from extensive blood loss before paramedics arrived.
“I hope that the case for the family brings some closure for something that is a long time coming,” said Griff Sikes, an attorney representing the family.
Sikes told The Associated Press that the lawsuit had initially named the City of Montgomery and its then-police chief as defendants, and indicated that his clients may re-file claims against either or both.
“The Supreme Court has decided that cities and counties are responsible for administering medical care when they arrest somebody,” Sikes said. “We think they failed to do that in this case, and it is not a failure of the individual officers, but a failure of the city that says, ‘you’re not to provide medical care.’”
The Associated Press reports that the Montgomery Police Department never released body-camera recordings of the incident, noting that it took years for the Pettaway family and their legal team to obtain and view copies.
Although the family moved the court to authorize the release of the footage, the judge determined that the video could create “the potential for protests which could endanger the safety of law enforcement officers, the public and private property.”
In his decision refusing the request, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerusha T. Adams said that he believed the family was “attempting to try this case in the informal court of public opinion, rather than in the courtroom.”
Sources
Alabama Dodges Police Transparency, Hiding Violent Body Camera Footage from Public
Family agrees to settle lawsuit against officer whose police dog killed an Alabama man
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