ORLANDO - Orange County Sheriff John W. Mina was sued in the Orange County Circuit Court by a woman who says she was wrongfully mauled by a police dog, according to documents filed on Feb. 2.
Plaintiff Denisse Cartagena, a Puerto Rico native, was a subject of interest in an investigation by the Orange County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit. She was being observed in her vehicle in March 2018 by deputies in the Redditt Road and Pompeii Road area.
Cartagena's vehicle stalled and she and another occupant of the car fled from law enforcement on foot and hid in bushes nearby, she says.
Deputy G. Marioni released his canine to apprehend Cartagena without warning her or offering the chance to surrender, the suit says.
The canine allegedly bit the plaintiff in the face and violently shook her head back and forth several times. The plaintiff accuses the deputy of not intervening when observing what the canine was doing to her face. Cartagena sustained serious and permanent injuries to her face after the incident.
She is represented by Dellecker, Wilson, King McKenna Ruffier and SOS LLP of Orlando.