Martinsburg woman sues county commission, deputies after dog attack

MARTINSBURG -- A Bunker Hill woman has sued the Berkeley County Commission, sheriff's deputies and another man after a police dog attacked her.

In a suit filed in Berkeley County Circuit Court this month, Annjeana L. Moore says she was attacked by a police dog in June 2004, after sheriff's deputies responded to the plaintiff's neighborhood for an assault.

Deputy Scott Myers and K-9 officer Thomas A. Young were dispatched to investigate the assault, which happened at about 11 p.m. June 30 when the plaintiff's neighbor was attacked and beaten with a baseball bat.

Young and Myers are two of the defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed March 6 by attorney Harry Waddell. The other two defendants in the suit are Corey Gano, who was with Myers during the incident, and the Berkeley County Commission, as an employer responsible for the actions of the deputies.

Moore claims Young left his police dog unsecured in an open vehicle while he interviewed residents in the neighborhood, including the plaintiff. Moore says she complained about the sheriff's department's response to the incident, though at no time did she make any threats or have physical contact with Young.

The suit claims Young's police dog attacked and severely mauled Moore. She says Young tried to cover up his negligence by falsely charged her with obstruction and battery of an officer, and Moore was arrested and prosecuted. Charges that had been filed against the plaintiff were voluntarily dismissed by the Berkeley County Prosecutor's Office Jan. 3, 2006.

The plaintiff claims Myers and Gano helped Young by writing false reports. She claims these three men "acted with a malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton and reckless manner in deliberately filing false reports accusing the plaintiff of obstruction and battery of an officer." Moore claims they are also liable for instituting a malicious prosecution of her without probably cause.

Because of the defendants' actions, Moore says she suffered severe injuries, mental distress, anxiety, pain and suffering, permanent scarring, medical expense and legal expense. She is seeking reimbursement in an amount to be determined in court, and she is requesting a jury trial.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Christopher Wilkes.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number: 06-C-153