Gainesville Police Dog Sends Woman to Hospital
The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) announced on Sunday that a homeless woman was mistakenly identified as a criminal by a GPD officer and sent to the hospital after receiving fractures in the calf and thumb from a K-9 unit.
In the early morning of March 23rd a GPD K-9 team was led to an enclosed fenced area behind a business on 3100 NW 13th St. After seeing a person behind the fenced-in area the K-9’s handler presumed them to be a domestic violence suspect they were looking for and allegedly gave verbal warnings to the woman.
The officer reportedly received no response from the woman and allowed the dog to attack her.
The press release states the K-9 handler “quickly realized” the woman was not the domestic violence suspect they were looking for. The press release does not specify the exact amount of time between the start of the incident to its resolution.
Assistant and soon-to-be interim Chief of Police, Nelson Moya, referred to the incident as “unfortunate, and unforeseen,” however, he occluded accountability in not publicly stating which officer had been handling the K-9. Moya did not regard an investigation before announcing all officers involved had followed GPD policy.
This comes 10 months after GPD’s K-9 unit was reinstated following its removal after Terrell Bradley’s maiming from a police dog.
In July of 2022, Terrell Bradley ran away during a traffic violation after Officer Andrew Milman found probable cause to ask him to step out of the vehicle. Bradley ran and was later found by a K-9 unit when hiding in the bushes and his right eye was mauled by the dog, which he later lost completely during surgery.
Milman was found in violation of GPD general order 26.1, in part for making light of his previous general order violations, stating to another officer “Lol I’m up to three this year but I got unfounded in 2 and the third was me not turning my body camera footage on.”
Milman has continued to disobey the oath he swore to hold up, conducting an unlawful arrest in January of this year. Milman and several other officers responded to a call where a woman alleged that someone was trying to kill her. The woman did not provide her address, resulting in officers using a phone ping to determine her location. This led the officers to her neighbor's residence.
According to the arrest report, the neighbor did not comply with being unlawfully arrested, causing the officers to use force. Milman, who wrote the arrest report, did not detail how much force was used or what was specifically done in the neighbor's detainment.
Milman isn’t the only GPD officer who has violated general orders and citizen’s rights.
In August of 2022, Corporal Shutterly committed sexual assault against three citizens at Coconut Cabaret gentlemen’s club. Shutterly was accompanied by Officer Tommy Alvin and Officer Emma Spaulding who enforced Shutterly’s commitment to the sexual assault.
Sergeant Aaron Wagle authorized the trio to conduct a city ordinance check regarding the dancer’s undergarments. The officers did not elect to measure the undergarments off their bodies despite the request from the dancers to change first. The initial reports from staff and management were handled by Wagle himself, and he did not disclose to staff that he authorized the sexual assault committed against them.
The internal investigation found none of the officers involved had any substantial knowledge of the nudity ordinance. All the officers involved except Spaulding received written warnings and are still GPD officers.
Spaulding received no written warning, nor display of accountability. She was rewarded with GPD Officer of the Year for 2023 at the State of the City address and is still serving as an acting law enforcement officer in Gainesville.
