LAKEWOOD, CO — A 26-year-old man says he was “nearly murdered” by Lakewood police officers who came to his home to arrest him and allegedly ordered their K-9 unit to attack him while he slept, according to a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Colorado.
Spencer Erickson, who’s listed as the plaintiff on the lawsuit, named the City of Lakewood in the petition filed in court. It also named the six officers involved in the incident — Ryan O’Hayre, Edward Baggs, Justin Richards, Kennadee Bleak, Matthew Christensen and John Terrana. The lawsuit claims that on the night of Sept. 21, 2018, the named officers “subjected (Erickson) to a use of force so excessive it nearly killed him.”
Erickson’s suit is one in a series of cases noted in the past year against police departments where plaintiffs allege excessive force by use of K-9.
In July, an Arizona man filed a notice of claim for $2 million against the Arizona Department of Safety after a police dog chewed his face off. In October 2018, an Atlantic City, New Jersey, officer was arrested for his role in a June 2013 arrest that left a man with 200 stitches after a brutal attack by the officer’s K-9.
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In this incident, Lakewood officers were at Erickson’s house following a 911 call from his roommate who, according to the lawsuit, called police to tell them Erickson had “created a hole in the attic and was possibly in the crawl space.” The woman also told police she believed Erickson, who had been her roommate for three months, had warrants out for his arrest.
Before going into Erickson’s home, officers found he did have outstanding warrants for alcohol and criminal mischief-related charges, the lawsuit says. It accuses the officers of coming up with a plan to apprehend Erickson, who was asleep in his bed when they arrived at his home, using Lakewood Police K-9 Finn.
The lawsuit does say officers attempted to call Erickson once but he didn’t answer, and then they texted Erickson to come out with his hands up or they would send a K-9 into the home, the lawsuit said; however, it says Erickson did not respond to the call or text because he was asleep.
*WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES FOLLOW*
Finn was sent into Erickson’s bedroom with “orders to attack, and without making any attempt to enter the room themselves, ascertain Mr. Erickson’s status, or verify whether Mr. Erickson or any other people or animals were there,” the lawsuit says. The dog bit Erickson’s neck and extremities multiple times, causing “severe and potentially lethal lacerations.”
Photos of Erickson’s injuries/U.S. District Court complaint
Adam Frank, Erickson’s attorney, told The Denver Channel that Erickson had no prior history of violence.
“For reasons we can’t fathom, other than this is how Lakewood told their officers to respond, they decide to respond in full force. They show up with at least six police officers and a police dog and treat this like a tactical assault,” Frank told the TV station. “They had absolutely no justification for that. This dog is trained to attack. This dog’s role is to find someone and bite them as hard as it can to subdue them.”
Despite the widespread use of K-9 police dogs, there is very little statistical information about the injuries the dogs cause in the line of duty, though one study published by Science Direct did find that police dog injuries typically are more severe than those from domestic dogs. Usually a result of their training, police dogs tend to inflict injury on the head, neck, chest and flank.
Erickson’s lawsuit says his wounds are “significant lacerations to his neck,” which were 6-7 centimeters in length and 5-7.5 centimeters deep, causing exposure of muscle tissue and the jugular vein. The lawsuit claims had the bites been just millimeters deeper, Erickson would be dead.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Lakewood Police Department knew K-9 Finn was a “dangerous dog,” claiming he previously attacked an officer during training, causing the officer to miss a month of work while he recovered. During this incident, Finn was allowed to search the apartment unsupervised, the lawsuit said.
Finally, the lawsuit claims the officers falsified their reports of the incident to justify the actions taken at Erickson’s home. In the reports, officers allegedly portrayed Erickson as the aggressor.
Erickson is suing the city of Lakewood and the officers, claiming the incident has had an impact on his mental health, ability to find employment, potential for career advancement and promotions, and his capacity to form friendships and relationships.
Lakewood police would not comment on the issue to The Denver Channel Friday, saying it was policy to not speak about pending litigation.