In 2018, the Montgomery Police Department sent a K-9 dog into a west Montgomery home.
The dog attacked Joseph Pettaway, lacerating his femoral artery. He would bleed to death soon after, alone in a hospital as his family searched for him. (1/x)
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Now, his family is fighting the city of Montgomery in federal court. A subpoena uncovered video footage from the incident, taken by the handler's body cam. The city says the footage is confidential.
The family says the video should be public. (2/x)
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The video remains under court seal. But a timeline filed by the family alleges the K9 handler allowed the dog to bite Mr. Pettaway for nearly 2 minutes. MPD officers allegedly failed to provide any first aid or attempt to staunch the bleeding. (3/x)
The K9 handler allegedly took a cell phone photo of Mr. Pettaway, bleeding in the floor, and responded "Fuck yea" when another cop asked if the dog had gotten a bite. (4x/x)
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MPD officers allegedly carried Mr. Pettaway out of the house and onto the pavement outside, taking no actions to staunch the bleeding as they waited for EMTs to arrive. Pettaway would not survive. (5/x)
montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/202…
I've followed this case for more than two years, after Mrs. Pettaway invited me into her home just a few lots away from where her son died.
K-9 fatalities are extremely rare in the U.S., and they're a complicated use of police force. (6/x)
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The city of Montgomery has argued in court the portion of the body cam video has been taken out of context and would move a jury or the public to act on "emotion." (7/x)
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A city attorney, apparently referencing the ongoing national spotlight on police use of force, argued unsealing the video could expose MPD officers and had "the potential of creating and/or facilitating civil unrest based on the graphic images alone."
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The Pettaway family says the video should be released for accountability and transparency. They also have questions about why MPD released a K-9 into a dark home with seemingly no idea who was inside. MPD has never alleged Pettaway attempted to flee or resist arrest.
MPD says they were responding to a burglary-in-progress call, and that the homeowner gave permission for the K-9 use. The Pettaway family, who has long called the neighborhood home, says the home was unoccupied and being repaired by Joseph and others.
One of Joseph's sisters tells me he may have been drinking with friends earlier in the night and chose to sleep there overnight. She said there wasn't anything of value to steal in the house.
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Thanks to Alabama's extremely weak public records laws, I have unsuccessfully tried multiple times since 2018 to get possible body cam footage. MPD at one time refused to even confirm if any existed. montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/202…
I've asked MPD if it trains its officers in first aid and if it requires any officer to provide emergency first aid. Mr. Pettaway allegedly bled from his femoral artery for more than 10 minutes before EMTs arrived on scene. MPD declined to answer.
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I've been told to file more records requests for my questions, including whether or not the K-9 handler in question is still employed.
The city, under a new mayoral administration, can't comment on the video due to a protective order, a spox said. montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/202…
"They could have tased him. He wasn’t armed," one of Pettaway's niece told me. "Why even send the dog in after him? And once the dog got him, the dog shouldn’t have been able to bite him the way that it did." (15/x)
montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/202…
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