From [HERE] The City of Hernando is facing a $5 million federal lawsuit after a Memphis man was mauled by the Hernando Police Department's police dog. 

According to the lawsuit,

During the evening hours of September 3, 2020, Officer Brown, without cause or justification, in his Hernando law enforcement vehicle, pursued Hoyle and initiated a traffic stop. Hoyle, after exiting his vehicle, complied with all of the officers' commands, and was in no way resisting when Officer Brown deployed his assigned Hemando Police Department K-9 to altack Hoyle when he was completely defenseless and compliant. After the K-9 savagely mauled Hoyle, one or more officers, including Officer Brown, then began to physically attack and assault Hoyle, and upon information and belief, at least one officer, now refen'ed to as John Doe 1, utilizing his feet and fists, struck Hoyle repeatedly without justification causing additional serious and mental injury.

Upon information and belief, John Doe 1, after kicking Hoyle while in custody and cuffed, proceeded to stand on Hoyle's back as if wiping his feet on Hoyle's body as if Hoyle's torso was a floor mat.

During this altercation, the officers in question verbally abused Hoyle using epithets to be established at a later time. The physical and mental injuries caused by the conduct of Officer Brown and John Doe 1 as well as other officers coupled with the physical and verbal degradation of Hoyle caused serious and grievous physical and emotional suffering. Hoyle was ta'ansported, not by trained medical professionals, but by John Doe 1 or another John Doe in his squad cat" to Baptist DeSoto Hospital, which, upon infolrnation and belief, is also a violation of not only the City of Hernando's policies and procedures, but customary police procedure for the safety and well-being of a criminal suspect who has been savagely mauled by a K-9 while in custody.

Hoyle received medical treatment consisting of at least eight (8) sutures to the chest and torso area from the dog puncture and tearing wounds and was prescribed pain medication at which time Hoyle was then transported to the City of Hemando jail and DeSoto County jail wherein, he received no further medical treatment and was required to purchase his own Tylenol fi'om the jail commissary at his own expense.

The lawsuit says Brown has a long and well-published history of aggression. 

Just last week, Brown was also named in a different lawsuit against the City of Hernando. In that lawsuit, two people died after the car they were in crashed on I-55.  According to that lawsuit, a police chase had been called off due to public safety, but the lawsuit claims Brown continued the pursuit which ended with the fatal crash. 

Brown previously worked as an officer for the Horn Lake Police Department. Brown retired from that department after a lawsuit was filed connected to him ordering his K-9 dog to attack a man named Jacob Cooper who was pulled over for misdemeanor DUI. A 2016 Court of Appeals decision found even though the officer who pulled over Cooper did not request the canine unit, Brown showed up and deployed his dog Sunny, which attacked Cooper.

An appeals court judge found Brown's use of force was "objectively unreasonable" and that "permitting a dog to continue biting a compliant and non-threatening arrestee in objectively unreasonable." The Appeals court found that "no reasonable officer could believe that Cooper was actively resisting arrest," and yet "Brown still did not command Sunny to release the bite."

In the most recently filed lawsuit against Hernando, the lawsuit claims the police chief and city leaders ignore officers' bad behavior. It claims not enough training is conducted regarding the use of force and that excessive force complaints are not investigated.