A group of residents from Prince George’s County is suing the county #police department for $16 million over an incident in 2021 where police allegedly entered their apartment without a warrant and shot their dog, Hennessy.
“What happened after that,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Malcolm Ruff said at the press conference, “was nothing short of utter chaos created solely by these brazen, retaliatory, and completely unauthorized actions of these disrespectful officers.”
The plaintiffs, Erica Umana, Erika Erazo Sanchez, Dayri Amaya Benitez, and Brandon Cuevas, claim that the officers obtained a key to their apartment from a maintenance worker, illegally entered the apartment, assaulted and falsely detained them, and shot their dog, leading to her euthanization.
Each of the plaintiffs are represented by the civil rights law firm Murphy, Falcon, and Murphy. The Prince George’s County police department did not respond to a request for comment. The State’s Attorney’s office declined to press charges against the involved officers, stating that their actions didn’t generate criminal liability.
“Nothing will ever make the pain go away, nor the hurtful memories of the abuse we had to endure,” Sanchez said Monday. “Now that you have seen for yourself the PGPD mistreated us, I ask you to stand and support us and support our effort to hold PG County accountable. This is not just about us, but it’s about everyone who has suffered at the hands of the PG County police.”
Officers had been called to the apartment complex for a report of an alleged dog bite involving Hennessy. The encounter was captured on body camera footage and cell phone footage, showing the officers entering the apartment with their guns drawn and attempting to detain the residents. The footage shows Hennessy being shot as she walked towards her owner, Umana.
We'll follow this story for future updates.
Link: DCIST
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