A California woman whose scalp was ripped off by a police dog has been awarded a nearly $1 million settlement.
Talmika Bates was attacked by the police dog in February 2020 after being pursued by Brentwood Police Department officers for stealing merchandise from an Ulta Beauty store in San Francisco’s East Bay community. Officer Ryan Rezentes, now retired, used his 85-pound German shepherd dog Marco to search for Bates, who was hiding in a bush.
“The canine came from behind and bit onto the back of Bates’s head, pulling and dragging her backwards onto the ground,” court documents read. Rezentes had not officially given Marco any command other than to search the bush before the dog began biting Bates…