Blind Mount Washington man settles police dog bite lawsuit

A Mount Washington man is poised to receive $16,000 after he settled a lawsuit against the city and several officers for a June 2017 incident in which he was bitten by a K-9 when police entered his residence in the middle of the night.

Pittsburgh City Council must approve the payment to Robert Aldred, 35.

The lawsuit, first filed in September in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and later moved to U.S. District Court, was connected to an incident that occurred in the overnight hours between June 23 and 24, 2017, at Mr. Aldred’s residence on Norton Street.

Mr. Aldred is legally blind and takes several medications. The lawsuit claimed that the responding officers were negligent and used excessive force, among other allegations.

“It was extremely traumatic,” Mr. Aldred said Wednesday at a news conference. “It was the police department. They’re here to protect and serve.”

The night of the incident, Mr. Aldred got off work and went to a lounge in Downtown with a couple of friends before returning to his apartment about 12:30 a.m. When he got home, he noticed that the front screen door was broken, but the door remained intact. He went to his third-story apartment and fell asleep.

Pittsburgh police officers Logan Hanley, Joshua Matthews and Michael Soroczak responded after an anonymous neighbor called 911 to report that a burglary was taking place at Mr. Aldred’s home. The officers entered the residence with a K-9 and made their way up to Mr. Aldred’s room.

Mr. Aldred, who didn’t hear police enter the residence, woke up when the officers came into his room. He said he was unarmed and naked, and he was confused why they were there.

None of the officers “had either reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe that Mr. Aldred had committed a serious or violent crime, or that he was about to flee,” according to the lawsuit.

Officer Hanley, who was the K-9’s handler, unleashed the German shepherd and encouraged it to attack Mr. Aldred, according to the lawsuit. Mr. Aldred said he raised his right arm to shield his face, and the K9 bit his forearm. The dog also bit Mr. Aldred’s right thigh.

Mr. Aldred told the officers that he lived in the house and begged them to stop the K-9’s attack. After the attack ended, the lawsuit said the officers placed Mr. Aldred in handcuffs and told him that they needed to question him further. The officers put a pair of track pants on Mr. Aldred and walked him out to the front porch of the home.

Mr. Aldred, who was “hysterical, crying and still bleeding profusely,” the lawsuit said, told the officers that he lived in the residence, but they continued to question him.

About 2 a.m., Mr.

Aldred’s roommate, Joshua Chebatoris, arrived and confirmed that Mr. Aldred lived there, the lawsuit said. One of the officers, who was not identified, took Mr. Aldred’s handcuffs off and asked him if he needed to go to a hospital.

“Mr. Aldred told the officer that he absolutely needed to go to an emergency room because he was still bleeding profusely and in excruciating pain from the attack,” the lawsuit said.

Mr. Aldred was taken to UPMC Mercy, where his arm was treated with gauze to stop the bleeding. He was prescribed antibiotics and painkillers.

Mr. Aldred said his medical bills will be at least $10,000. He was never charged or cited with any crime.

Included among those named in the lawsuit, which was settled outside of court, were all three responding officers and the city.

Mr. Aldred said the incident caused him severe emotional distress in addition to the physical pain.

“Mr. Aldred will never be the same,” said Todd Hollis, Mr. Aldred’s attorney. “And the fact that this happened in his own home, I’m certain it will have lasting consequences.”