02/24/2022
Brentwood Police Officers’ Association Responds to Media
Reports on Civil Lawsuit Against Canine Officer
February 24 – Local Bay Area media outlets KRON and KTVU began reporting on a civil lawsuit filed against one of our members, Officer Ryan Rezentes. National media outlets have also begun reporting on the story. As has become commonplace in recent years, those media outlets abdicated their responsibility to inform the public on the facts of an incident, and instead have chosen to demonize the police and fan the flames of racial discord. Contrary to what was reported by the media, this was not just “a shoplifting incident” and the use of a police K9 had nothing to do with the race of the suspects.
The lawsuit stems from a crime which was committed on February 10, 2020. The plaintiff, Talmika Bates, who was 24 years old at the time, along with two of her associates reportedly stole over $10,000 worth of merchandise from a store and then fled in a vehicle. As another Brentwood PD officer was responding to the reported crime, he observed the suspect vehicle at a nearby major intersection and it appeared the vehicle was attempting to cross the busy intersection against the red light. That officer positioned his police car in front of the suspect vehicle so that he could protect the other motorists and prevent any further flight. Instead of stopping, the suspect vehicle rammed the front end of the police car in order to escape, and then fled at high speeds. The suspects’ actions not only endangered the police officer who was rammed, but also endangered numerous other citizens on the roadway.
Bates and her associates continued fleeing in their vehicle until they collided with a curb and disabled their vehicle, at which time all of the suspects, including Bates, fled the vehicle on foot. Numerous officers, including Officer Rezentes with K9 Marco, along with a police helicopter, responded to the scene to assist with a search for the suspects. One of the areas being searched was a field with large swaths of nearly impenetrable shrubbery and trees. These types of areas are especially dangerous for police officers to search, due to the fact that potentially armed suspects can easily conceal themselves inside the overgrown vegetation, and officers may not see the suspect until they are right upon them. This is one of numerous scenarios where utilizing a police dog helps keep our officers safe.
After nearly an hour of searching, during which time even the helicopter was unable to find the suspects, Officer Rezentes ordered K9 Marco to search the large patch of overgrown vegetation and the dog located Bates inside. Police dogs are trained to bite the first part of the suspect’s body they come in contact with, which in Bates’ case was the top of her head. When it became apparent that K9 Marco had located one of the suspects concealed in the vegetation, Officer Rezentes and the other officers ordered Bates to come out. This is standard safe practice, because the officers were still unable to see Bates and they could not determine if she was armed. Once Bates was taken into custody, she was immediately provided with medical aid for her injuries.
The Brentwood Police Officers’ Association believes it is important that the public have this context regarding Officer Rezentes’ actions and the use of K9 Marco. All of the details we have provided here, and many more, were available within public records. It appears these media outlets chose to not seek out this information, and they attempt to defend their actions by stating they sought comment from the City of Brentwood and the Brentwood Police Department, knowing full well that neither of those entities are going to provide comment on an incident that has pending litigation. The media is well-versed in making public records requests, and know they could have
obtained the court records from Bates’ criminal case. Since these specific media outlets did not do so, we can only conclude that is because they had no desire to provide the context which we have provided here, and that they would rather attempt to sow division between the police and the community.
The Brentwood Police Officers’ Association will not make any further comment regarding the specifics of this incident. We are grateful for the support of our community as our officers do their best to protect everyone’s safety.
