‘It’s Still Biting Her!’: Wisconsin Black Teen Heard Screaming In Pain As Security Guard Struggles to Release K-9’s Bite from Her Leg Files Lawsuit Alleging Company Tried to Hide Incident from Police
A 19-year-old Black woman from Wisconsin said she was trying to break up a fight inside a shopping mall last month when a security guard allowed his K-9 dog to attack her, clamping down on her ankle for more than a minute, leaving the teenager with serious puncture wounds and lacerations on her leg and possible lifelong injuries.
Now Amirah Walls is suing the security guard — who has since been fired — as well as the security company and the two companies that run the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, a municipality that is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
“Amirah was not an aggressor in this situation,” said her attorney, B’Ivory LaMarr, during a press conference Tuesday after filing the lawsuit on Monday.
“Amirah was trying to intervene to prevent a fight. She was trying to deescalate and break up a fight that had occurred.”
Part of the incident was captured on video recorded by a witness, showing the dog named Blue with his jaws locked on to Walls’ ankle as the security guard, Malcom Ingram, tries his best to pull the dog away from the teen.
“He’s locked on,” one witness can be heard saying as bystanders and Walls are heard screaming.
“Oh my God, it’s still biting her,” another witness said.
The lawsuit accuses the security company, Andy Frain Services, of trying to cover up the incident by not only firing Ingram within 24 hours but also relocating the dog to Indiana before it could be quarantined and examined by Wisconsin animal control workers for rabies which is required by state law.
According to the lawsuit:
These actions were undertaken before any meaningful investigation could occur and effectively precluded government authorities from enforcing quarantine requirements, conducting interviews, gathering documentation, or examining the animal involved.
Defendants’ conduct constitutes intentional concealment and destruction of evidence, undertaken with the knowledge that litigation was likely or foreseeable given the nature and severity of Plaintiff’s injuries.
This willful interference with Plaintiff’s ability to investigate and pursue her claims undermines the integrity of the judicial process and supports a finding of spoliation and liability for damages. It also warrants an adverse inference, that had the evidence been preserved, it would have been unfavorable to Defendants.
“There was no police report filed that day,” attorney LaMarr said during Tuesday’s press conference, explaining that security guards turned Wauwatosa police away when they showed up to the mall after receiving 911 calls, telling the cops there was no need for them to investigate.
It was only because Walls filed a report with the Wauwatosa Police Department the following day after being treated for her medical injuries that police became aware of the situation, LaMarr said.
“That is unacceptable. What are they trying to hide?”
The lawsuit accuses Malcom and the security company of assault and battery and excessive force. It also accuses Andy Frain Services of negligent hiring, training and supervision.
Also listed as defendants are Mayfair Mall LLC, which controls the Wisconsin mall, and Brookfield Properties Retail LLC, which manages various malls and other properties around the world, including the Mayfair.
The lawsuit accuses those companies of “intentional concealment and destruction of evidence,” claiming they took part in the cover up as well as failing to protect Walls while she was on their property.
The Attack
The incident took place on March 28 when Walls and a friend got into an altercation with two other young woman based on a prior dispute on social media
Jaziah Spivey told TMJ4 that she was one of the other women and had prior beef with Walls’ friend. They started mouthing off to each other after spotting each other in the mall, then it got physical.
She said Ingram, the security guard, had the dog on a leash as he broke up the fight. But she said there was a second fight which was when the dog attacked Walls. But Walls was only trying to break up the fight, her attorney said.
The lawsuit states that Ingram dropped the leash while trying to break up the second fight which was when it bit Walls on the ankle, then bit her a second time, refusing to let go for “over a minute.”
The dog was finally pried loose with the arrival of several other mall security guards.
“Following the attack, Mayfair Mall security personnel failed to call 911, notify law enforcement of the dog bite, or provide medical assistance to Plaintiff,” the claim states.
Police showed up anyway after receiving calls of the fight but were told by security guards that all the women involved in the fight had left the mall and there was nothing for them to investigate.
However, once police started investigating the following day after Walls filed her report, the security company told them that Walls was trying to kick the security officer while he was trying to break up the fight, causing him to drop the leash.
“The video evidence does not show any kicking whatsoever,” said LaMarr during the press conference.
Her mother, Santana Walls, also spoke at the press conference, telling local media that her daughter is in college studying to become a doctor and also holds a job at a local hospital which she has not been able to return to due to her injuries.
“Her career and who she is, is for taking care of people,” her mother said. “That’s what she was trying to do in this situation.”
But now her daughter has been unable to work and has been receiving medical care three times a week to treat her injuries which include “puncture wounds, lacerations, bruising, and swelling, involuntary shaking, along with emotional distress, anxiety, embarrassment, and trauma,” according to the lawsuit.
“What took place about a week-and-a-half ago, it was preventable, it was unnecessary,” said LaMarr.
“And unfortunately, we now have what could be lifelong injuries.”
Watch the video below.