Oakdale man files $1M claim against Modesto over dog bites. Here’s what he says happened
An Oakdale man alleges that while he was cleaning his garage door his neighbor’s dog brushed up against him and then bit him three times. The man and his attorney have filed a $1 million claim against Modesto saying the city is responsible.
Why Modesto? The claim states the neighbor is a Modesto police officer and the dog is his police dog. The claim states the man was bitten Feb. 22, and the officer and his dog were off duty. The man gave a statement to Oakdale police the next day, and the man and his attorney recently filed the claim.
The man is identified as Gerardo Flores in the claim, and his neighbor is Modesto officer Ryan Vander Tuig. The dog is Joker, a Dutch shepherd who has been Vander Tuig’s partner since 2018.
Flores and Vander Tuig live next door to one another in east Oakdale. Flores declined to comment, and Vander Tuig could not be reached for comment. He has been a Modesto officer since April 2016, according to his Linkedin page.
Flores, 38, was bitten around 5 p.m. on Feb. 22. He reported the incident to Oakdale police and gave a statement.
According to the Oakdale police report, Flores said he was standing on a chair and cleaning his garage door when he felt something brush against his leg. As he shooed it away he looked down and saw it was his neighbor’s dog.
“As he started to step off the chair, the dog nipped him in the calf area,” according to the report. Flores “said as he reached the ground, the dog bit him on the calf behind his knee and then bit him the third time below his buttocks. (Flores) said the neighbor, MPD Officer that is in charge of the dog, retrieved his dog by using commands to stop the dog from engaging.”
Treated at hospital for dog bites
Flores told police he was treated at Oak Valley Hospital’s emergency department for the dog bites and received a Tetanus shot. Flores claims the officer told him the dog was current with its rabies vaccination “and that this is the cleanest bite that you will ever have.”
The report stated that Oakdale Animal Control would not follow up because the dog is owned by the Modesto Police Department.
Modesto police spokeswoman Sharon Bear said in an email that Joker “is still in service due to this being the only incident of this type that he has been involved in.”
She declined to comment on the claim and its allegations. “Without speaking to the City HR/Risk Personnel, we cannot comment on the open claim.”
If Modesto rejects the claim, then Flores and his attorney can file a lawsuit against the city.
Flores is represented by attorney Farid Yaghoubtil with the Downtown L.A. Law Group. Yaghoubtil initially said last week that he might comment for this story but then did not return text messages seeking comment.
The claim alleges the Police Department is negligent in its hiring, training and management of Vander Tuig and Joker.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 9:31 AM.
