The family of a man who was fatally attacked by a police dog in Montgomery, Alabama, has agreed to a confidential settlement in their federal lawsuit against the police officer who handled the K9. The lawsuit filed in 2019 named Montgomery officer Nicholas Barber as responsible for the K9 that attacked and killed 50-year-old Joseph Pettaway in 2018 while he was sleeping in a small house where he worked as a handyman. The settlement was reached in July, but the family’s lawyers plan to appeal a ruling that absolved the city of any responsibility.
According to court documents, officers had responded to a call reporting an unknown occupant in the house where Pettaway was sleeping. Barber released the police dog into the house, which found Pettaway and fatally bit into his groin, severing his femoral artery as per autopsy reports. Despite officers taking Pettaway outside, he bled out while waiting for paramedics, per the family’s lawsuit.
The investigation by The Associated Press has highlighted numerous cases nationwide where police tactics intended to be non-lethal have led to fatalities, including Pettaway’s case. The lawsuit also accused the City of Montgomery and its former police chief Ernest Finley of neglecting to train officers to provide first aid efficiently.
While the claims against the city and the former police chief were dismissed, the family’s attorney, Griffin Sikes, stated their intention to appeal the decision. Body camera footage detailing the incident has not been released publicly, with the judge citing concerns about potential protests that could endanger law enforcement officers, the public, and private property as the reason for withholding the recordings.
Attorneys representing Barber, Finley, and the City of Montgomery declined to comment on the case. The legal process to acquire and view the body camera footage took years, with U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerusha T. Adams suggesting that the family was attempting to try the case in the court of public opinion rather than in the courtroom.