A federal lawsuit was filed against the Hialeah, Fla., police force for allowing a police dog to attack an underage offender while he was surrendering.
Although it is now more than a year since the December 2013 incident happened to Javarius Ragin, the boy and his mother filed the lawsuit to claim that the Hialeah police had used excessive force on Ragin, according to CBS Miami.
Ragin's lawyer, Rod Vereen, said his client was viciously attacked by Diesel, the Hialeah police dog, and suffered physical and emotional trauma because of the incident, according to CBS Miami.
The suit indicated that Ragin (who was 14 years old at the time) was attacked by Diesel while surrendering, the dog ripped open his genitals and he was not given proper medical attention.
Court documents filed said that Ragin needed his genitals stitched up.
Ragin, who was charged with grand theft auto with three others, had been freed as he completed a program for first-time juvenile offenders, his lawyer said, according to the Miami Herald.
"This is yet another example of law enforcement using excessive force when none was needed," Ragin's lawyer said in the court filing.
Hialeah police refused to comment and referred calls to the city's legal department. The city attorney could not be reached for comment on Monday, reported CBS Miami.
