Florida man missing eye after K-9 attack, police say; dog temporarily removed from duty

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A Florida man is missing an eye after he was apprehended by a K-9 following a traffic stop.  

Terrell Bradley, 30, said his finger was also chewed up after he was apprehended by a Gainesville Police K9 following a traffic stop. After an investigation, the Gainesville Police Department has temporarily taken the K-9 off duty. 

According to Gainesville Police, an officer tried to stop Bradley for a traffic violation two weeks ago. The officer said he saw contraband and that he believed Bradley was acting suspiciously. The officer patted Bradley down when they say he resisted by physically contacting the officer and ran away. Police say there were loaded guns in his car and when the officer ran his name they saw he was a convicted felon. Officers were looking for him with a K-9 when the dog found him behind bushes and took him down.  

"I feel like no one should get pulled over for a traffic stop and leave without an eye and get ate up by a dog," said Bradley. "He wasn’t acting like a dog that had any control over himself." 

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Bradley said he ran away because the officer was acting aggressively from the start, and he felt unsafe. Bradley believes the K-9 acted with too much force and would like to see something change within the department. 

"You all need to train people that despite what they see, despite what the run-up on your tag, plate and info, so now they feel like your past they have to treat you a different way," said Bradley. "I just want to be a voice that those people need to be treated fairly too."

The Gainesville Police Department reviewed the case because of the seriousness of the injuries and decided the K-9 needed to be temporarily removed. Chief Lonnie Scott said in a statement:

"Let me begin by saying it is never the intent of our officers to injure anyone we encounter. We understand that this incident has brought up many emotions and our neighbors have questions."

The police department is going to review the canine deployment policy and get input from experts and residents.