The second anniversary of the brutal police dog attack that left Talmika Bates lying on the ground with her scalp ripped open and her brain fully exposed on camera just passed about two weeks ago. But the emotional scars remain and understandably so.
The brutal attack of the police-trained German Shepherd was prefaced by allegations that Talmika Bates and her friends had attempted to burglarize an Ulta Beauty supply store in Brentwood, California. The violent occurrence came to a head after a wild police chase that resulted in an automobile accident.
Following the collision, Bates jumped out of the getaway car and ran from the police on foot. She managed to hide in the bushes where she remained for about 20 minutes before being spotted by a police dog named "Marco," who then ripped her scalp open with several bites to the head. The then-24-year-old was apprehended but she was brutally injured in the process. Therefore, Talmika Bates is suing the police for excessive force. Her attorney also claims Bates has endured pain and trauma that money may not even fix.
"Talmika says she still has nightmares of the dog grinding and chewing on her head," said Bates' lawyer, Patrick Buelna. "She says that she felt like she was going to die that day and really did not believe she'd live to tell her story but is alive and thankful. She had to have her scalp surgically reattached to her head. She suffers severe depression and remains traumatized from the mauling."
There is still no word on how much financial compensation Bate's lawyers will seek in a lawsuit that could be a long and drawn-out process. So for now, the California native is just walking the road to recovery one day at a time.
"My whole brain almost fell out," Bates said during a recent interview with KTVU Fox 2. "I'm supposed to be dead right now, not alive, and I'm just thankful."
Scroll up to watch footage of the brutal attack on Talmika Bates by a police-trained dog.
Source: NY Post
