COVINGTON, Ky. — An innocent man who had been sleeping in a hammock in the woods "resisted" Covington police by not responding to their commands as a police dog bit him in June 2022, according to the Covington police K-9 officer's use of force report on the incident.
The victim, Sean Davis, filed a federal lawsuit last month against the City of Covington and Officer Michael Lusardi.
The police dog was released on Davis without warning because officers wrongly believed he was the person who had been identified as hiding near a woman's campsite in violation of her protection order, according to the lawsuit filed in United States District Court in Covington.
According to Lusardi's use of force report, Lusardi, the police dog 'Duke, and another officer searched for the suspect in a wooded area near the Licking River.
They stopped at a campsite with two tents.
"I gave loud announcements identifying myself as a Covington PoliceK-9," Lusardi wrote in his report. "I heard no response from anyone in the area so we cleared the tents and moved north along the path."
Lusardi's body-worn camera video — provided by Davis' attorney and reviewed by the I-Team — shows Duke heading deeper into high vegetation that's difficult to see in the darkness without the officers' flashlights.
The dog stopped near a tree about 50 meters from the tents, according to the police incident report.
"I believed PSD Duke was standing on the suspect," Lusardi wrote in his use of force report. "In fear for mine and Officer Jones' safety, I commanded PSD Duke to engage."
Almost immediately after Lusardi commanded Duke to 'engage' the person in the woods, Davis is heard screaming in apparent pain on footage recorded by Lusardi's body-worn camera.
In his use of force report, Lusardi wrote that he gave commands for the suspect to "show his hands."
"I could not determine if PSD Duke had a hold of the suspect or the hammock," Lusardi wrote. "As I got closer, I observed PSD Duke had a hold of the suspect wrapped up in the hammock."
Footage of the incident recorded on Lusardi's body-worn camera shows Duke biting down and pulling on Davis as he sticks his hands out and upward within four seconds of Lusardi's first command to show his hands.
According to Lusardi's use of force report, Davis resisted officers by 'not responding to commands.'
"I'm basically getting my arm torn off," Davis said. "I'm not fighting back at all. I'm staying as limp as possible because I knew it would probably make it worse."
In his use of force report, Lusardi wrote that as Davis lay on his stomach and another officer tried to handcuff Davis, Duke pulled the sleeve off Davis' jacket.
Lusardi wrote that while he was trying to break free of the hammock's cords, Duke bit Davis' tricep.
After that, Lusardi wrote, he grabbed Duke by the collar and he commanded the dog to release his grip on Davis.
Duke released Davis, according to Lusardi's report.
According to the use of force report, the 'situational factors' that night included Davis hiding his hands and ignoring the officer, and the suspect's 'history of violence.'
The report also claimed Davis allegedly evaded arrest by 'stealth' and by 'hiding.'
"He posed no threat to anyone and he was never given an order or the opportunity to comply," Davis' attorney Anita Washington said.
According to the use of force report, Davis wasn't arrested. But police body-worn camera video shows after the dog bit him, officers handcuffed Davis behind his back for 37 minutes until he was treated and released from a hospital.
Davis wasn't charged, according to police records.
The City of Covington blacked out the last two lines of Lusardi's use of force report because it mentioned private health and medical information, according to Covington Asst. City Solicitor Sheree Weichold.
In an email response to the I-Team’s questions, Weichold declined to explain why more than 30 minutes of audio was redacted on one of the police body-worn camera recordings because the I-Team received that video from Davis’ attorney
According to Davis' lawsuit, the City of Covington and Officer Lusardi violated his civil rights by using excessive force, assaulting him and intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
Covington Police Chief Brian Valenti, City Manager Ken Smith and an attorney representing the City of Covington and Officer Michael Lusardi declined to comment on the lawsuit.
But in a court filing, the city and Lusardi denied the lawsuit's claims — adding that Lusardi was "acting within the course and scope of his employment" and that Davis' "injuries and/or damages were caused solely as a result of his own acts or omissions."
