K-9 Attack: Colo. Springs Cop Allegedly Targeted Wrong Man: Suit

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- A man filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a Colorado Springs police officer alleging he was unjustifiably attacked by a police K-9 dog when police were seeking a suspect who looked significantly different than he. Willie Watlington's suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver alleges CSPD officer Tim Browne ordered his German shepherd Blitz to "viciously seize" him, causing biting injuries that required hospitalization, even though Browne and his colleagues were searching for a suspect described as a "middle-aged white man in his 50s or 60s." Watlington, who is African American, was 24 at the time of the incident. The suit said the K9 dog "chomped down" on Watlington's leg and dragged him across the cement, and that officer Browne did not call off the dog.

Watlington's suit seeks compensation for injuries received from the dog bite that had him walking on crutches for six-to-eight weeks. The suit also seeks damages for scarring, emotional trauma, medical bills and "punitive sanctions to punish the officer for his flagrant disregard of his rights and safety."

The suit alleges that on Dec. 11, 2015, Watlington was having a night out at the Peak Tavern at 2001 E. Platte Ave. when several officers came to the bar searching for a suspect described as a "middle-aged white male." Several officers entered the bar through the front door and Browne and the dog Blitz waited behind the bar.

When Wadlington exited the bar through the back door, which was the most direct way to his apartment, the suit said, he heard a "muffled shouts" and turned and saw Browne pointing at him and the German shepherd running towards him, according to the suit. He "immediately dropped to the ground and curled up in a ball," the suit said. The dog repeatedly "chomped down" on Watlington's leg then "clamped down" and dragged him.

Browne "did not attempt to command the animal to stop, physically intervene to prevent the dog from biting or dragging, or otherwise cease the attack," the lawsuit said. Finally, the officer called off the dog and Watlington, although injured, was questioned by officers who ran his license to see if he had any outstanding warrants, the suit said.

At Penrose St. Francis Hospital, doctors sutured “several puncture wounds and one large gaping wound” made by the K-9, as well as abrasions on both of Watlington’s palms caused by being dragged by the animal, the suit said.

The suit said Browne's supervisor, Brian Cummings interviewed Watlington at the hospital, telling him officers had been looking for a white male in his 50s or 60s, and that Watlington "obviously did not fit the description." Cummings allegedly "acknowledged that the K-9 should nothave been used to bite him and that Defendant Browne had violated CSPD protocol," the suit said.

The suit said Cummings brought Browne into the hospital room and Cummings apologized for the incident. Browne did not apologize, the suit said. Watlington asked Browne his first name, but the officer "vaguely and deceptively avoided providing a real answer," saying only "officer," the lawsuit says.

Reporting by Ellie Mulder in the Colorado Springs Gazette said Browne joined the K-9 force in 2014 from the Tactical Enforcement Unit. According to the K9 unit's Facebook page, a German shepherd in the K-9 unit called Blitz was euthanized in June after medical complications.

Read the complaint here:

Image of K9 Blitz from Colorado Springs PD K9 Unit Facebook Page