2005 was a very bad year for the K-9 unit…particularly two deputies that cost the ECSO at least two lawsuits.
February 2005
Gulf Breeze teen, Addison Salter, is bitten by K-9 after a disturbance at Valentine’s Day dance. Salter later won a lawsuit against the ECSO.
James Sullivan, according to the Internal Affairs investigation, stomps ex-convict Timothy M. Tabor during a Feb. 5, 2005, arrest while Tabor was handcuffed, lying face down after deputies subdued him. The incident left Tabor with 12 staples in his head and a fractured sinus cavity. Tabor had kicked a K-9 that was trying to corner him. Sullivan escapes conviction by allegedly destroying the video on the arrest on his grill.
March 2005
Sheriff Ron McNesby calls for an internal review of dog-handling policies at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office after one of the department’s German shepherds bit a bystander. Leo Weatherspoon, 50, was bitten in his yard and required 17 stitches after a deputy’s dog mistakenly attacked him.
July 2005
Tobias Hobbs claims Escambia County sheriff’s Deputy Tim Taylor slammed him against a vehicle and then pressed his forearm against his throat during a DUI stop. Hobbs also alleges Taylor threw him to the ground and allowed his police dog to attack him. Taylor was involved in Salter incident. Hobbs sues the ECSO.
BTW:
April 2006
Jeremy Jarman Sr., 30, a K-9 officer with the Sheriff’s Office for eight years, is accused in early April of striking his wife in the face with clothing, pulling her hair, grabbing her by the arms, pushing her to the floor, and striking her face on a coffee table. Jarman was involved in the Salter incident. Battery charges are later dropped.