An Uber driver had a K-9 dog sicced on him when he was 10 days late on a car payment, and while the San Ramon PD says the dog attack was justified, use-of-force experts call it a “hyperexaggerated and hysterical response.”
We learned in early January of an Uber driver who had a K-9 dog sicced on him, and received a mauling that required 36 stitches and left him permanently injured. The driver, Ali Badr, was 10 days behind on a car payment, and his online rental service reported the car stolen. So certainly we have a car theft suspect here, but the violent nature of his encounter with the police — with the K-9 ordered to viciously attack, while the suspect was complying entirely with the arresting officers — drew a federal lawsuit for the mauled Uber driver, Ali Badr.
Ali Badr rented a car to keep getting Uber fares. From a company that caters to rideshare drivers. He was late on a couple payments. The owner reported it stolen, per his lawsuit. An automatic license plate reader alerted cops, leading to traffic stop.https://t.co/EDrTRU5o9P
— Matthias Gafni (@mgafni) January 3, 2022
Given the significance of a federal lawsuit, and the very large settlement Mt. Badr could be in line for the San Ramon Police Department conducted an internal review of the incident captured on bodycam. And wouldn't you know, the Chronicle reports that San Ramon police found no wrongdoing, calling the dog mauling “justified and necessary,” despite the suspect being compliant, unarmed, and even barefoot at the time.
The San Ramon PD report determined the dog was “released at the proper time.” But independent law enforcement analyst Lt. Tom Nolan, a former Boston cop called it a “hyperexaggerated and hysterical response.”
“The cops lost control of what they created,” Nolan told the Chronicle. “It’s as wild a situation as it gets. It’s Cops Gone Wild.”
The San Ramon Police Department will almost certainly let themselves off the hook, but Bard will still have his day in federal court, where the scales are set a little more evenly. But the case is rather similar to the current conflict between DA Boudin and the SFPD, where police insist they can investigate themselves independently, but somehow, always conclude that there were absolutely no mistakes made by law enforcement.
Related: San Ramon Police Sic Attack Dog on Uber Driver Who’d Merely Missed Car Payments [SFist]
Image: San Ramon Police Department
