Family files lawsuit against city, owner of dog that killed Grover Beach man

A former Grover Beach Police officer is being sued after his dogs attacked two people last year.

Betty Long was left with severe injuries. David Fear died a few days after the attack.

The lawsuit filed on Thursday names former officer Alex Geiger, the City of Exeter, Exeter Police Department, City of Grover Beach, Grover Beach Police Department.

In addition to Christopher Belavic and Monica Belavic, Geiger’s landlord.

Fear’s family members along with Betty Long and her daughter Lori Chevoya are the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit goes into graphic details about what happened to Long and Fear in December 2016.

The 17-page lawsuit recounts the terrifying moments when Neo, a Belgian Malinois and former police K-9 mauled them both in Grover Beach.

“She [Long] is recovering from most of her injuries she won’t ever be the same person she was before,” said Jacqueline Frederick, Long’s lawyer.

Frederick describes the 86-year-old woman’s experience as traumatic. She says the dog knocked her down and bit her all over her body.

“When you suffer this trauma it will affect her for the rest of her life,” she said.

Long was on the phone with her daughter Lori Chevoya when she was attacked along Nacimiento Avenue in Grover Beach.

She was screaming “they are killing us, eating us,” details the lawsuit.

The suit claims the former Grover Beach Officer, Geiger, “failed to keep the dogs confined, restrained, controlled or otherwise maintained.”

“Mr. Geiger failed to follow all the normal protocols to ownership and procession of the K-9.” That day the dogs ran loose in the morning he had the opportunity to kennel the dogs and did not, several hours later the attack happened,” said Frederick.

The lawsuit says the dogs “had unusually dangerous traits and/or propensities.”

It states Fear’s children, Rachel, Sarah and Steven also suffer from losing their father.

KCOY 12 did reach out to the Grover Beach, Exeter Police departments and their City Attorney they said they cannot comment at this time because they have not had enough time to review the lawsuit.