By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 7, 1999; Page M05

A Temple Hills man is suing the Prince George's County police department, alleging that he was mauled by a police dog while he was handcuffed and lying face-down on the ground, though he was never charged with any crime.

"To do that to people in our system of justice is outrageous," said Donald Temple, the attorney for Robert M. Wilburn, 43.

After the Sept. 30 incident, Wilburn required multiple surgeries on his right leg and suffered from infections in that leg, Temple said. Wilburn, who owns a small waste-management company, has missed a significant amount of work, Temple said.

Despite plastic surgery, Wilburn's leg is scarred for life, Temple said.

The lawsuit, filed in Prince George's County Circuit Court, seeks more than $25 million in punitive damages against the county and three unnamed police officers and an additional $5 million in compensatory damages.

Wilburn also is suing a Capitol Heights towing company whose driver, according to the lawsuit, lied to police that Wilburn fired shots at him after he towed Wilburn's truck.

The lawsuit seeks more than $500,000 in punitive and compensatory damages from Henry's Wrecker Service for intentional and malicious behavior.

Prince George's police would not comment on the lawsuit, which is one of at least five pending civil suits involving allegedly unwarranted attacks by county police dogs. A police spokesman said the department generally does not comment on matters in litigation.

Deputy County Attorney Sean Wallace characterized the incident involving the police dog as "an unfortunate accident." He said that the dog leapt out of a police cruiser from an opened window or door and attacked Wilburn and that the dog was quickly pulled away by police.

H.G. Eid, general manager of Henry's Wrecker Service, said he could not comment in detail because the company had not yet been served with the lawsuit.

Eid did dispute the lawsuit's version of how Wilburn's truck was towed and defended the professionalism of the company, which he said had contracts with Maryland and Virginia State Police and Prince George's police as well as about 60 commercial and retail clients.

This is how the incident unfolded, according to the lawsuit and Temple:

On Sept. 30, between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., Wilburn stopped his truck at a shopping center on Forestville Road to use a pay phone. As he made his call, a Henry's tow truck driver pulled up next to Wilburn's truck.

Wilburn told the tow truck driver the truck was his and the engine was still running. Despite this, the tow truck driver secured Wilburn's truck to tow it, at which point Wilburn got into his truck.

At the tow truck lot, the unnamed tow truck driver cursed at Wilburn, told him to leave the lot and then grabbed him by the throat and took him out of his own truck and removed him from the lot.

County police arrived and told Wilburn he had to pay the $135 towing fee, which he did.

While driving home on the Beltway, Wilburn was pulled over by more than 10 county police officers in about six squad cars. With their guns drawn, they ordered Wilburn out of his truck.

When he left the truck and got on the ground as ordered, Wilburn was handcuffed and held face-down. Then the dog appeared and began to attack Wilburn, repeatedly biting him while two unnamed officers held him down.

Instead of summoning medical attention for Wilburn, the officers questioned him for 30 minutes while they searched his truck. The officers told Wilburn that the tow truck driver had reported that Wilburn had fired three shots at him.

Wilburn denied the allegation, and officers took him to Prince George's County Hospital for treatment.

Temple said that no gun was ever found in Wilburn's truck and that Wilburn did not own a firearm.

Wallace said the police officers were investigating a report of gunfire in good faith.