Man attacked by police K-9 plans to take legal action against Alpharetta Police

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) – A man who was attacked by an Alpharetta Police K-9 during an arrest announced on Wednesday he plans to take legal action. Travis Moya says he’ll file a lawsuit next month against Alpharetta Police Department.

Moya and his wife Kami say they still suffer from physical and emotional distress from that day back in late July of last year. Kami calls it the worst day of her family’s life.

“Our kids are at the door. The dogs barking, officers are yelling,” said Kami Moya.

Her husband was attacked by an Alpharetta Police dog as authorities responded to a mental health call from their home. At the time, Alpharetta Police claimed Moya was showing aggression and displaying his fists. Then they say he resisted arrest and tried to get away.

Kami recorded the interaction and subsequent attack on her cell phone.

“At a certain point, I had to stop recording. I could not record and try to deal with the trauma at the same time,” she said.

An unarmed and handcuffed Travis could be seen and heard in police body camera footage begging the officers to get the dog off him.

“I’m lying on the ground. My neck is right next to my shoulder. I don’t know whatever could happen,” said Travis. “But I definitely believe it could have been dealt with a whole lot better.”

On that day, Travis was eventually taken into custody and charged with felony obstruction, along with a slew of other charges.

“We all saw from the video that Mr. Moya didn’t do a single thing in order to be charged,” said L. Chris Stewart, the Moyas’ attorney.

Nearly a year after that brutal attack, Fulton County dismissed all charges against Travis. His attorneys say they plan to file a lawsuit next month against the Alpharetta Police Department. They claim the dog has a history of violence.

“We have also discovered that not only was Mr. Moya unfairly attacked, but the night before the same canine was let loose on another individual,” said Stewart.

The Moyas say Travis hasn’t been able to get a job since the attack because of the felony charge against him. Now with the charges dismissed, they hope to get their lives back.

“How do fix someone’s life? How do you fix a human being with no record? And how do you fix a disfigured arm? With surgery? No,” said Kami.

The Moyas’ attorneys say the police dog that attacked Travis is no longer on the police force. Alpharetta Police forwarded our request for comment to the City of Alpharetta, which declined to make a specific comment on the matter.

“The City of Alpharetta has considerable respect for the District Attorney’s Office and as a matter of practice, does not comment on the decisions of that agency,” said James Drinkard, assistant city manager.

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