U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott ruled a trial was warranted on four claims when the evidence is “viewed in a light most favorable” to Chelsie A. Gemperline and Samuel C. Campbell.
“This is a case in which, aside from the initial training that Officer Nick Clark and Spike undertook prior to Spike’s certification there was a complete, across-the-board absence of training and supervision with regard to the K-9 unit,” Dlott said in a ruling filed April 26 in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.
After Spike was certified as a trained police dog in May 2005, its handler and supervisors failed to ensure it received continuing training designed to prevent the dog from developing bad habits and continued to deploy the dog on patrols even after certifications lapsed for several months in 2007, Dlott said.
Dlott ruled there was enough evidence for a federal trial on civil claims that Clark violated the constitutional rights through the use of excessive force and assault and battery against Gemperline and Campbell, and the city and Kruithoff failed to adequately train and supervise the K-9 unit.
Lawyers representing Springboro said they planned to appeal Dlott’s ruling.
Springboro’s first — and only — K-9 unit was disbanded after Gemperline, then 18, of Springboro was bitten in 2008, one of two bitings in a month, according to police reports.
“She’s gonna get a rude awakening here in one second or two... it’s not gonna feel very good,” Clark said before Spike bit Gemperline on Oct. 11, 2008, according to recorded comments recounted in the judge’s order.
The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 20, 2008 by lawyers Douglas and Dwight Brannon on behalf of Gemperline and Campbell, then 36, of Springboro who was bitten by Spike on Oct. 21, 2007.
The K-9 unit was shut down a day after Gemperline was bitten — and less than a month after Zachary Kerns, then 20, of Springboro, was bitten. Springboro settled with Kerns in December 2010, according to court records.
Kruithoff formed the unit after taking over as chief in 2002.
“Believing that a K-9 program could be a useful public relations tool, Kruithoff sent out a department memorandum to see if any officers were interested,” Dlott said in her order.
Clark was selected and chose Spike, a Belgian Malinois, from an Illinois company specializing in training police dogs and their handlers.
After completing a 300-hour training course, Clark and Spike were certified by the Ohio Training Commission and the North American Police Work Dog Association.
Clark used a harness and special leash when tracking suspects with Spike.
He testified in depositions that supervisors failed to allow enough time for him and Spike to complete maintenance training although he “continued to voice complaints about lack of training time up to the Gemperline incident,” Dlott said.
In summer 2007, Clark testified that Spike was “deployed” about 10 times although the dog’s certifications lapsed.
While apprehending more than 20 suspects, Spike bit 13 people, according to Dlott.
Campbell was bitten while he was lying on the ground near his girlfriend’s house, trying to avoid police, according to his deposition.
Dispatched to a domestic dispute, police deployed Spike after a neighbor said they had seen Campbell kick the girlfriend’s door. Campbell said he kicked the door while trying to awaken his girlfriend.
While the girlfriend slept, Spike tracked Campbell, jumped over a fence and bit him on the left leg, according to depositions.
Campbell said he was treated and released from the Middletown Regional Hospital, but readmitted for infections. He was charged after the incident, but the case was dismissed, according to court records.
Spike bit Gemperline as she hid in a playhouse near a home where she was attending an underage drinking party, according to police records and depositions in the lawsuit.
“Gemperline planned on spending the night in the playhouse because she thought she would get into trouble if she went home,” Dlott said.
Clark was directed to deploy the dog after Gemperline slipped out of handcuffs and escaped from a police cruiser, raising concerns about her safety and elevating the case to a potential felony, police said.
As they were abandoning the search, Clark said Spike “leapt head-first through the window of the child’s playhouse.”
Gemperline said she tried to pry Spike’s jaws from her right leg before losing consciousness.
She was handcuffed until Sgt. Brian Dulle of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office saw her wounds and ordered her to be released, according to the order.
Zimmaro carried Gemperline to an ambulance. Gemperline said she was treated at Sycamore Hospital and Kettering Medical Center and has a “permanent deformity in her right thigh,” Dlott said.
In December 2008, a grand jury indicted Gemperline for resisting arrest and underage consumption, but declined to charge her with felony escape, according to court records.
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