SAN RAMON, Calif. — A California man has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Ramon, its police chief, and seven of the department’s officer after he said was attacked by a police K-9.
Ali Badr was arrested by San Ramon police on Dec. 20, 2020 while driving a rented 2017 Toyota Camry. In the lawsuit, Badr claims the car was rented beginning in August with a term that ended Dec. 23, and that he was legally driving the car when he was arrested. The lawsuit alleges that the car’s owner reported the Camry as stolen, wrongfully and unbeknownst to Badr.
Because the car was reported stolen, officers pulled him over and arrested him. Body camera footage of the incident allegedly shows Badr following police orders and leaving the car, but when he lowered his hands to put his shoes on, one of the officers let a police dog loose which attacked Badr, The Washington Post reported.
The body camera video, obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, appear to show Badr not resisting and in pain while a police dog is biting his arm, CBS News reported.
In the lawsuit, Badr claims “the police K-9 was allowed to continue biting the Plaintiff’s for over 50 seconds, before being pulled away. As a result, Plaintiff suffered extensive and permanent damage to his arm and hand.”
The attorney representing San Ramon, Martin Lysons, told NBC News that “the injuries sustained by Ali Badr are a matter of great concern to the City of San Ramon and its police department,” and said there was an internal investigation underway.
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The lawsuit makes clear the police are not solely to blame, saying the issue began because the car rental company, CarMommy, reported it stolen. Badr had been late on several payments, The Washington Post reported, but said he was still legally in possession of the car when he was arrested.