Lawsuit: Henderson police K-9 bit off man’s finger as he tried to surrender

A dangerous beast called “Jaws.” A mechanical robot. A force with enough gadgets to conduct “a small regional war.”

Some of these details may sound like the makings of a cheesy horror movie, but they’re actually a description in a new lawsuit of tactics used by the Henderson Police Department.

The suit stems from “a non-violent, non-combative standoff” at a home in Henderson in October 2023 that ended in a man being attacked by a dog and losing a finger as he tried to surrender, according to a copy of the colorfully written complaint filed in Clark County District Court Tuesday by attorney Craig Mueller on behalf of Kevin Purnell.

A spokesperson for the city of Henderson declined to comment. The city and its Police Department have not yet filed a response to the suit, which alleges authorities committed excessive force, negligence and battery.

Henderson Justice Court records indicate Purnell faced charges of battery domestic violence, domestic battery by strangulation and battery on a protected person. Prosecutors decided not to proceed with the charges, which Mueller said were “meritless,” and the case was dismissed.

Mueller said his office received 46 hours of body camera footage, but the suit alleged body camera footage of the incident is missing for some officers.

Henderson apparently did not discipline or investigate anyone involved in the incident, according to the filing, which accused the department of having “a pattern of using K-9s on unarmed or vulnerable civilians, failing to discipline officers, and failing to enforce its body camera policy” and “a municipal culture of deliberate indifference to the rights of suspects in police custody.”

Hourslong standoff

At the time of the incident, Purnell and two “female companions” lived at the home, the suit said, and the two women were fighting outside the presence of Purnell, a musician preparing for his music producer to arrive. One woman apparently texted her mother to have police come and do a welfare check, according to the complaint.

Mueller said Purnell had nothing to do with the argument between the women, but that he broke up the fight. One of the women may have called the police on Purnell, Mueller said.

Once police showed up and decided to arrest Purnell, the suit said he went into the house and refused to leave. A five-and-a-half hour standoff ensued.

“During that period of time, the (Henderson Police Department) gradually assembled a movie-worthy, battle-ready, munitions-laden army of HPD personnel to surround the house,” despite the fact that Purnell was not armed or violent, according to the complaint.

There were SWAT trucks, a K-9, police cars, officers, fire department staffers and a crisis negotiation team, the complaint said.

‘Enough communications gear for a small regional war’

The police department, the filing claimed, also had “enough communications gear for a small regional war, plus a mechanical robot used to roll through the by-then blown out front door — matching the by-then blown out garage doors — and walk up the steps inside the well-appointed home, ostensibly to capture a non-violent, unarmed individual.”

Purnell’s attorney told him to surrender while waving a white cloth and he did so, but once he reached the sidewalk, the suit said police decided to have the K-9 attack Purnell.

“The worthy K-9 officer, estimated to weigh 80 to 100 lbs., referred to herein as ‘Jaws,’ was released and, now unrestrained, was free to attack and maim a shocked Kevin, and in his finest K-9 Officer training school manner, did exactly that, promptly chomping off Kevin’s right index finger as Kevin attempted to protect himself from the attack, then dropping the torn and bloody digit to the ground, and moving on to other vulnerable areas of Kevin’s body including his leg,” the complaint said.

The dog bit Purnell’s leg so fiercely that he fractured Purnell’s left femur, according to court documents.

Jaws was not the dog’s actual name, Mueller said.

After Purnell had “been chomped and bitten,” the lawsuit said police took him into custody and he “was forcibly injected with ketamine.”

Police apparently did not preserve the “severed finger,” the filing said; it was found in the house days later. Mueller said Purnell is now unable to play the piano, guitar or synthesizer.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.