Brentwood pays woman $1M after police K-9 rips off her scalp: attorney
Tamilka Bates was bitten by a K9 named Marco in Brentwood.
BRENTWOOD, Calif. - WARNING: This story contains graphic photos
The city of Brentwood paid a woman $1 million after a police K-9 bit her, ripping off her scalp as she was hiding in some bushes after stealing makeup from Ulta Beauty.
The amount was part of a civil lawsuit on behalf of Talmika Bates – a large sum in terms of what juries have paid out in police dog cases across the country, according to a review by KTVU.
Bates' attorney, Adante Pointer, said he received the check this week and soon plans to distribute it to his client, who has suffered both physical and emotional trauma since the dog attack in February 2020.
"K-9s are potentially lethal weapons and police must be held accountable when they are misused," according to Bates' civil rights attorney, Adante Pointer, who said that this is the largest award for a police dog bite that he's aware of. "Ms. Bates was almost killed because of how the police callously sicced the dog on an unarmed woman. The injuries Ms. Bates suffered are forever life- altering."
The city of Brentwood on Friday sent out a letter to the council, essentially recapping the facts of the case and mentioning at the end of the one-page letter that the police department does not currently have a K-9 unit.
In a followup email, Capt. Walter O'Grodnick told KTVU that the reason for no working K-9 unit is that there are two vacant positions and no active police dogs because of staffing.
The settlement means that the case will no longer go to trial, which a federal judge paved the way for in May.
U.S. District Court Judge Rita Lin ruled that ordering a police dog to bite a person doesn't necessarily constitute excessive force, but siccing a K-9 on a person for a long time does.
In this case, Brentwood police officer Ryan Rezentes had his dog, Marco, clamp down on the young woman's scalp for roughly a minute, video and court records show.
Video obtained by KTVU shows Bates screaming in pain as the dog literally ripped the skin off her scalp.
Talmika Bates Feb. 10, 2020 after a Brentwood police dog mauled her head.
"I really thought I was going to die," she said at the time. "I really didn’t think that I was going to be able to tell this story and really explain to nobody. It’s just traumatizing. It's just sad."
Bates, who was 24 at the time, has since pleaded guilty to misdemeanor grand theft.
She said her hair still doesn't grow around her wounds.
GRAPHIC VIDEO: Body camera video shows Brentwood police dog nearly ripping off woman's scalp
Rezentes and Marco began working together in 2015. In fact, both were featured on the city's website.
But according to the current version of the city's website, the photo of them has long disappeared, and Rezentes and Marco stopped being a team in 2022 – the same year Bates filed her lawsuit.
Capt. Walter O'Grodnick told KTVU that both Rezentes and Marco have retired.
And he added that the police department has not made any changes to the policies in the K-9 unit as "Officer Rezentes’ use of the K-9 was objectively reasonable per policy given the totality of the circumstances related to Bates’ apprehension."
When the department is in a position to fill those two open K-9 positions, O'Grodnick said they'll "evaluate training as it relates to industry standards and any legislative mandates or forecasted changes related to the use of K-9s."
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated on Nov. 11, 2024, after the city of Brentwood responded to KTVU's request for comment and clarification.