LAKE CITY, Fla. — A traffic stop that left a man's leg mauled by a police K-9 bite in October and is now the center of a lawsuit claiming racial prejudice is detailed in a report from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.
Attorneys for Martinezz Bowman filed an Intent to Sue Notice, claiming negligence against the sheriff's office and the City of Lake City.
According to the Offense Report from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Deputy David Harvey attempted to pull over a white Dodge Charger on Oct. 23, 2020 on Gerson Lane due to the vehicle having its tail lights "completely blacked out from the rear." Harvey followed the vehicle at a slow speed with his lights on, then turned on his siren to try to get the driver to pull over.
The vehicle pulled into a driveway, and Harvey, along with Deputy J. Gohde, initiated a felony traffic stop "due to the driver refusing to stop and the unknown of weapons in the vehicle," the report says. The driver, later identified as Bowman, was given multiple loud orders that he refused to comply with, according to the report.
Bowman "constantly remained hostile stating, 'you is not about to shoot me!'," the report states. Harvey gave Bowman additional orders to face away and step to the patrol vehicle, the report says, but Bowman "continuously reached in the vehicle and would (not) come back out."
Because Bowman's actions were "dangerous for Deputies," he was warned that if he did not comply, the officer's K-9 would be released, according to the report. Bowman told Harvey to "come get him" instead of complying with his orders, which is when Harvey deployed K-9 Drago, the report says.
Harvey writes in the report that he gave Bowman "two loud verbal announcements, 'Sheriff's Office K9' (and) Martinezz then told me to send my dog." K-9 Drago was released, and "apprehended Martinezz by biting on to his left leg around the calve area," the report says.
**WARNING: Some may find the photo below graphic and disturbing.**
Bowman went to the ground, and Harvey approached him and ordered him to put his hands behind his back, which the report says Bowman refused to do.
"I had to physically force Martinezz's hands behind his back to place handcuffs on him. After Martinezz was secured I removed K9 Drago from the apprehension," Harvey says in the report.
While Harvey was apprehending Bowman, the other deputy, Gohde, removed two women from the vehicle, who told the deputies they told Bowman to stop while the deputies were trying to pull him over and he refused, according to the report. Harvey says in the report he "could hear the two (redacted) yelling at Martinezz to just listen to me in which he refused."
The report goes on to say deputies smelled alcohol on Bowman's breath and marijuana emitting from the vehicle. Harvey suspected Bowman was possibly intoxicated, and that his intoxication possibly altered his decision-making skills, the report says.
The deputies released Bowman to medical personnel at Lake City Medical Center after requesting a blood sample to determine his impairment, which Bowman refused, the report says.
"Deputy Gohde then read Martinezz Implied consent and explained it to which Martinezz still refused to provide a sample," the report says. "Upon leaving the medical center, Martinezz still would not allow medical personnel to provide medical attention."
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Several charges are listed against Bowman in the report, though prosecutors did not file formal charges. Bowman was not ever physically arrested in the case.
The report also says deputies found an unopened bottle of liquor in the back seat of Bowman's vehicle.
There was no body camera video of the incident. Columbia County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Khachigan told First Coast News, while the sheriff's office had no bodycams when the incident happened, all deputies have them now.
Bowman's attorneys claim the reason for pulling him over was false, saying in the Intent to Sue Notice that the brake lights and turn signals on the vehicle "clearly work."
Bowman told First Coast News the reason he did not stop right away was because he was trying to get back to a safe, well-lit place because he was afraid for his life given the recent police encounters involving Black men.
No officers or deputies were placed on leave or desk duty related to the incident, Khachigan said.