From [HERE] In a lawsuit, Tonya Marie Adams of Cedar Rapids asserts excessive force was used on her Black 13-year-old son — because of his race and appearance — when the police dog attacked him.

This suit was initially filed in Linn County District Court but later refiled in U.S. District Court because it asserts federal claims of excessive force by police and racial discrimination. A trial date is set for Sept. 26, 2022. The city has denied the allegations.

Police officers were pursuing young Black males, suspected of stealing a vehicle and possibly armed, along Eighth Street NW near Ellis Boulevard in the early morning hours. Reports indicated young Black male suspects may have been in the area of Eighth Street NW near Ellis Boulevard in the early morning of Aug. 13, 2020. Apparently, the police had no other details except “black” and “male.” That is, cops had no other corroborating information, such the suspect's height, weight, build, complexion, hair style/length, age, facial hair or type and color of clothing etc. - just all and any Black males they encounter.

The suit asserts officers assumed A.H. was involved in the criminal activity because of his race and appearance. Officers didn’t look for more information before searching, detaining and arresting the 13-year-old, it alleges.

The complaint said the teen had planned to spend the night at a friend’s house Aug. 12, but the friend wasn’t home and he ended up falling asleep in his friend’s backyard.

Brad Kaspar, an attorney for Adams, said two nights after the Aug. 10 derecho left Cedar Rapids without power, the teen planned to spend the night with a friend. But there was a mix up in communication and he ended up falling asleep in his friend's backyard, in the 1100 block of Eighth Street NW, because nobody was home.

The report, provided by Kaspar, stated Officer Trimble, who is named in the suit, was with his police dog partner Ace and moving toward an alleyway, directly behind an area where police had found one of the suspects hiding under a car. There was a large lot at 1100 Eighth St. NW with chopped up tree branches from the storm.

Trimble, in the report, said Ace started moving around a metal trailer, out of his view. A short time later he heard screaming and saw Ace biting the upper arm of an individual “partially hidden” next to the logs.

The complaint says the dog encountered the teen and attacked him without command or provocation. The police canine latched onto A.H.'s arm and refused to release his arm despite being commanded to do so by Trlmbla. CRPD officers forcefully arrested A.H. and threatened him with numerous charges for conduct which he was not involved.

CRPD officers assumed A.H. was involved in the nearby criminal activity simply by virtue of his race and appearance as a 18-year-old black male.

Kaspar previously said the teen didn’t know why the dog had attacked him and officers were yelling at him. The teen said officers threatened him with car theft and firearms charges, Kaspar said. [attempted to niggerize him]

The lawsuit states the police dog handled by Trimble has in at least one previous incident attacked a citizen “without provocation or command.” In this case, Trimble failed to adequately control the police dog as it “sporadically darted throughout the neighborhood,” the suit asserts.

The report stated that after the teen was arrested, officers took him to UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Hospital. Kaspar said the medical report described the teen's injuries as deep lacerations and scrapings. He likely will have a lot of scarring, Kaspar noted. The offlcers wrongfully told medical personnel that he was in a car that was involved in a pursuit which resulted in a foot pursuit.

Kaspar said after the teen was attacked, falsely detained, arrested and treated, the officers realized he wasn't involved in the crime and released him. [thanx master]

The suit states the attack and arrest has caused the teen physical and emotional injuries and damages.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of an $8 million settlement the city announced it would pay to Black motorist Jerime Mitchell and his wife, Bracken, after he was shot and paralyzed in 2016 by a white police officer, who was cleared by a grand jury but fired last year over departmental violations. In announcing the settlement, which is covered by insurance, the city did not admit wrongdoing.