Opinion ID: 2737114
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Edwards’s Account of the Dog Bite

Text: According to Edwards, soon after he hid, he saw two officers with flashlights approaching where he lay, but did not know that a dog was accompanying them. When the officers’ flashlights illuminated Edwards, he screamed that they “got [him]” and he “only ran because of [his] license.” Rosco started to bite Edwards’s left leg the moment he finished speaking. Shanley and Lovett stood near Edwards, watching Rosco bite Edwards’s leg. Edwards screamed to Shanley to “take the dog off,” and Shanley told Edwards to “stop resisting; stop resisting.” According to Edwards, though, he was not 3 Case: 13-14393 Date Filed: 09/25/2014 Page: 4 of 25 resisting and even shouted to Shanley “I’m not resisting, . . . please take the dog off my leg.” During the duration of the attack, Edwards did not attempt to kick Rosco. Rosco pulled Edwards’s leg like it was “a rope.” According to Edwards, the attack lasted for five to seven minutes. After Edwards “played like [he] was passing out,” Shanley handcuffed Edwards and told Rosco to release Edwards’s leg. Due to his injuries, Edwards was hospitalized for six days and had two surgeries on his leg, including a skin graft. Edwards was convicted of fleeing and eluding law enforcement and sentenced to two years’ probation.