A Pompano Beach man bitten in the groin by a police dog after a Broward sheriff’s deputy mistook him for a wanted rapist last year has sued the Sheriff’s Office. An attorney for Juarez DaSilva, 25, filed the suit Dec. 9, seeking an unspecified amount in damages. The suit claims Bento, a police dog handled by Deputy Scott Bures, attacked DaSilva outside his Pompano Beach home in the 400 block of Northwest 40th Street on Aug. 27, 2007. Bures and his dog were part of a search for an accused rapist described as a black man in his early 20s wearing dark shorts and no shirt. DaSilva — who is Latin and has a dark complexion — was shirtless and wore dark shorts when the deputy approached him. According to Bures’ report, DaSilva walked toward him even though he was told to lie down. “At this time, the subject’s actions and failure to comply were heightening my belief that he was in fact the wanted suspect,” Bures wrote in his report. Bento lunged at DaSilva and bit him in the groin. When DaSilva tried to fight the dog off, Bures released the leash and Bento then bit DaSilva on his left forearm, according to the deputy’s report. DaSilva says the near-opposite happened: he stood still outside his home as the deputy walked toward him. He fell to the floor when Bento bit him, but didn’t fight back, according the dog bitel awsuit. Backup deputies handcuffed DaSilva, but released him when they found they had the wrong man. DaSilva, who works in construction, suffered injuries that have limited his ability to work.
Excerpt taken from a Sun Sentinel article.
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