Cops Win $10M Civil Case Filed By Mother Of NJ Man Who Died After K9 Bite

VINELAND, NJ — Vineland's police department will not have to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man's mother after the man died in police custody seven years ago.

Phillip George White died in March of 2015, after a Vineland officer took him to the ground and called for the police K9 to hold him. The officers had responded to a neighbor's call for a disturbance, court documents show.

A jury found that Officer Louis Platania, the K9 officer, did not act maliciously or violate White's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, court records show.

Video shows the K9 biting and holding White, while bystanders tell the officers he is knocked out and not resisting.

Police said White, a Black man, died on his way to the hospital. White was 33. Officials said he had a toxic level of Phencyclidine (PCP) in his system, which caused his death, according to the Vineland Daily Journal.

The jury in Camden also determined Officer Richard Janasiak did not violate White's rights by failing to intervene. A Cumberland County grand jury declined to indict White and Janasiak in 2016.

Judge Joshua D. Wolson ordered judgment in favor of the City of Vineland and the police department on Monday, court records show.

White's mother Pamela filed a civil lawsuit in 2016 in federal court on behalf of his estate, seeking $10 million in compensatory damages.

The officers were responding to a report of a disturbance on West Grape Street the morning of March 31, 2015. The lawsuit claimed White was leaning on a fence and talking to a friend when Platania arrived and harassed him, slamming him into a nearby car.

Police said Platania left the K9 in his cruiser and only called for the dog when he and White began struggling. Platania said he initially restrained White "for purposes of obtaining medical attention" for him and to protect both White and the public, court documents show.