BRENTWOOD, Calif. - WARNING: Viewer discretion advised. This story includes disturbing video and pictures. A Brentwood police K-9 bit a woman in the head, she says, as she hid in an attic crawlspace one year before the same dog ripped the scalp off a shoplifter hiding in bushes – an incident that drew widespread media attention, KTVU has learned.The German Shepard named "Marco" and its handler made national headlines last month when video of the second gruesome attack in February 2020 was made public by KTVU.
The injured woman in that case, who was permanently disfigured, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last month against the city of Brentwood and its police department.
But revelations that Marco bit another woman in the head, who also appeared to be hiding unarmed in a prone position, raises more questions about how the Brentwood Police Department deploys its K-9 unit.
The officer wrote in a police report that he thought the woman hit her head on a nail.GRAPHIC WARNING: Brentwood police dog bites woman hiding in crawlspaceThe two documented head bites by this particular K-9 comes as police departments around the nation have faced more scrutiny about how they use dogs in dealing with suspects.