Woman Sues Over Alleged Police Dog Bites At South Bay Metro Station

LOS ANGELES — A woman sued the city of Hawthorne Friday, alleging she suffered serious injuries when a police dog was unjustifiably unleashed upon her at a Metro station in 2023.

Tyler Wilson's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also names as a defendant HPD Officer Sarah Lewis, identified in the complaint as the K-9 handler. Wilson's complaint alleges civil rights violations, battery and negligence. She seeks unspecified compensatory damages against the city and Lewis, as well as punitive damages from Lewis.

A Hawthorne representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit.
The alleged dog attack occurred April 1, 2023, at the Hawthorne/Lennox station of Metro Line C.

Wilson was "peacefully present" near the street entrance of the station when the K-9, under Lewis' control, "violently attacked plaintiff by forcefully and repeatedly biting onto her left arm in multiple areas, inflicting severe and permanent injuries in a vicious and prolonged attack," the suit alleges.

Wilson was not committing a crime, was not wanted for any wrongdoing and had no outstanding warrants, according to her suit, which further states that she was nonetheless subjected to "unreasonable and potentially deadly force in a manner not warranted by any reasonable law enforcement objective."

Wilson alleges Lewis was negligently hired and trained and that it "should have been plainly obvious to the city of Hawthorne and the Hawthorne Police Department that the respondent officers were dangerous, violent employees, prone to deploy the department K-9 without reasonable justification."

The plaintiff also contends that her injuries were the result of "unconstitutional policies and customs of the city of Hawthorne and the Hawthorne Police Department."

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