DETROIT – A Detroit family is still seeking accountability nearly a year and a half after a brutal dog attack killed a loving father of six.
Harold Phillips was walking home on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, after getting off a bus in the area of West Chicago and Longacre Street in Detroit, when three dogs got out of an unsecured gate and attacked him. He died four days later.
That April, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against several people and entities, including the City of Detroit, Detroit Animal Care and Control, and Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control. That lawsuit has since been working its way through the court system and is currently in the court of appeals as the city pushes for it to be dismissed.
In January 2025, the owners of the dogs, Roy and Trevina Goodman, were both sentenced on dangerous animal causing death charges. Roy was sentenced to 30 months to 15 years in prison, and Trevina was sentenced to three years of probation.
In the wrongful death lawsuit, the family argues that it wasn’t just the Goodmans’ fault, but that the system failed them as well.
According to the lawsuit, Detroit Animal Control had run-ins with these dogs before Harold Phillips was killed. It lists two attacks that happened before Harold Phillips’ death -- including a time when a child was bitten.
The three dogs that attacked Phillips were euthanized.
How Harold Phillips’ family remembers him
Shauntaye Phillips, Harold’s wife of more than a decade, described him as a great dad with a very loving spirit, funny -- and a hard-working man. She said she misses him dearly.
Shauntaye said the couple met while Harold was working for Fast Flyers. Harold was delivering papers, and Shauntaye was walking to the gas station. She said, laughing fondly at the memory, that he followed her for two blocks just to get her number.
Her favorite memory of Harold is of their wedding.
“He picked the place, he picked our outfits, my shoes. It was really nice,” she said.
When the couple had free time, they cooked, they loved to go to the water, and they spent time with the children.
“But when it was just me and him, you know, we had our little dates. Drive-ins, and movie dates, dinner dates -- those were our favorites,” Shauntaye said.
But life hasn’t been the same since he died.
“It’s boring. I don’t do nothing. I stay home. I’m in the house, unless I’m taking a kid somewhere or things like that. Like, I’m not really interested in being out and about,” Shauntaye said.
Harold’s daughter, Hailey Phillips, 9, described her father as “nice” and “sweet.” She said her favorite memory of her dad is when he took them to the movies.
“I love my daddy, and I miss my dad, and when I miss my dad, I always play his music,” Hailey said.
Shauntaye said the family is doing their best to move forward.
“We understand that death happens, you know, even tragically, unexpectedly. So we’re just doing our best to move forward and, you know, keep positive thoughts and his memory. You know, happy good times at the forefront,” Shauntaye said.
‘I stayed until his heart stopped’
The day Harold was attacked, he had gone to the mall to get some clothes for an upcoming job interview.
By the time Shauntaye got to the hospital, her husband was already in a medically induced coma.
“That was very hard to see him in the hospital. It was very hard, but I was praying very much so that he would have made it through. But, you know, I stayed until his heart stopped. So, you know, that’s pretty much all I could do,” Shauntaye said.
Harold was hospitalized for four days. During that time, his right arm was amputated, he was placed on dialysis, and underwent several blood transfusions. He died on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
The family has received financial support through a GoFundMe page created when Harold was hospitalized.
“Thank you to the community, the city of Detroit, pretty much the world, because we’ve gotten donations from everywhere,” Shauntaye said. “Thank you to all of those people who donated and cared for our family.”
Lawsuit seeks accountability
According to attorney Paul Huebner, the wrongful death lawsuit is about accountability.
“The lawsuit that we filed at Fieger Law on behalf of Shauntaye and her family seeks to find accountability for the city of Detroit, Detroit Animal Care and Control, Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control, and their agents and employees that were in charge of taking care of dangerous dogs like the ones the Goodmans owned,” attorney Paul Huebner said.
The lawsuit alleges that Detroit Animal Care and Control had investigated attacks involving the Goodmans’ dogs prior to Harold’s death -- it calls these investigations “inadequate.”
“Specific to the Goodmans, the D.A.C.C. investigations into the multiple prior attacks by their dogs were inadequate, Zoom classes and citations failed to educate The Goodmans; The D.A.C.C. did nothing to curb their reckless behavior as owners of the dangerous and vicious dogs,” the lawsuit states.
Child bitten in 2021
The lawsuit alleges that on Jan. 29, 2021, Roy Goodman was watching a 5-year-old boy when he and the child were bitten “by at least two of the five dogs living in the home, ‘Brock’ and ‘Blaque,’ and the dogs were impounded.”
According to the lawsuit, Trevina Goodman sent an email to a Detroit Animal Care and Control investigator and “pleaded with her to allow her to keep her dog, specifically Blaque.”
The lawsuit quotes the email, saying Trevina wrote, “As a puppy, Blaque did show me signs of anxiety and food aggression,” and he “doesn’t feel safe in his own skin.”
According to the lawsuit, Trevina enrolled Blaque in a Zoom training session, and though the dog was deemed dangerous -- Blaque was returned to the Goodmans.
Blaque was one of the three dogs involved in the deadly attack on Harold Phillips.
Man bitten in 2022
According to the lawsuit, on Dec. 3, 2022, a man was attacked by the Goodmans’ dogs. He alleged that he was “bitten, attacked, mauled and otherwise injured by the dogs owned by Trevina Goodman.”
The lawsuit states that Detroit Animal Care and Control records show attempts were made to contact the victim and the Goodmans, but the investigation was closed after leaving a card on the door at the Goodmans’ home.
Detroit pushes for dismissal of lawsuit
The city of Detroit has requested that the wrongful death lawsuit be dismissed, and currently, the case is in the Court of Appeals.
The Local 4 Investigative team reached out to Detroit Animal Care and Control, and the city declined to make a statement, only saying they “do not comment on active litigation.”
Detroit Animal Control 2019 changes
The 2019 hiring of Mark Kumpf to lead Detroit Animal Control caused controversy, including a change.org petition calling for his removal that got more than 19,000 signatures.
Those calling for his removal noted that Kumpf was named in a 2015 lawsuit in the death of Klonda Richey, a woman who was killed outside her Dayton, Ohio, home by two dogs.
The lawsuit alleged that the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center and its director -- Kumpf -- could have prevented her death if they’d been more responsive to her complaints about the dogs.
Also in 2019, Detroit officials announced that Detroit Animal Care and Control would be restructured.
Under this new structure, at the time, the animal care side was run by director Mark Kumpf. Officials said his focus would be on the sheltering and care of animals, pet vaccinations and licensing, and pet adoption efforts.
The animal control side of the operation was placed under the city’s General Services Department, which was under the direction of Assistant Director Lori Sowle. Officials said her focus would be on improving the process for reporting loose animals and the city’s response. Her focus was also said to be on preventing loose dogs and potential dog bites by hiring a team of animal control inspectors.
Mark Kumpf and Lori Sowle are both named in the Phillips’ wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that under Kumpf and Sowle’s watch, “dangerous animals remained an unaddressed and ever-present threat to the safety and lives of people within the city of Detroit.”
According to the Dayton Daily News, in 2020, a $3.5 million settlement was reached to avoid a trial in the Richey case.
Why is Friends of DACC named in the lawsuit?
Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control is a volunteer-run nonprofit that supports Detroit Animal Care and Control.
According to its website, Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control “is active in the areas of volunteer management, fundraising, donations, community outreach, foster programs, adoptions, in-shelter enrichment, and medical care for the animals.”
The lawsuit alleges that Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control has brought in outside partnerships to receive funding, mentorship, grants, and more. One of the organizations the lawsuit names is the Best Friends Animal Society, which has a goal of working with shelters to achieve no-kill status nationwide.
“We allege that due to the money that’s tied to those donations and where they come from, Detroit Animal Care and Control has allowed Friends of (DACC) to dictate, in part, at least, how they enforce the rules in the city of Detroit for dangerous dogs,” Paul Huebner said.
Inspector General investigates Friends of DACC
In the Office of Inspector General for the City of Detroit’s 2023 1st quarterly report, it was revealed that the Detroit Board of Ethics received a complaint that alleged Detroit Animal Care and Control employees violated the city’s standards of conduct.
“In addition to being DACC employees, both employees also serve on the Board of the Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control, a non-profit organization that was created to solely benefit DACC. The OIG investigated this complaint to determine if the employees abused their authority or wasted city resources as DACC employees,” the report states.
The Office of Inspector General did not find that any abuse or waste occurred, but the report did list other concerns. Among its concerns, were that the roles and responsibilities of DACC and Friends of DACC were not clearly defined.
“As a result, the relationship between DACC and FODACC may be problematic and give the appearance of impropriety,” the report states.
According to the report, there was no Memorandum of Understanding between FODACC and DACC. It also found that FODACC kept a cash box and other equipment on city-owned property, FODACC was using the DACC address as their business address, and FODACC wasn’t reporting donations annually.
The Office of Inspector General made the following recommendations:
- FODACC should adhere to the Detroit City Council Resolution, by submitting annual donation records for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. FODACC should also fulfill the requirements of the Resolution moving forward.
- A written agreement for the ownership and maintenance of the x-ray machine and other equipment, if any, needs to be finalized.
- DACC and FODACC, with the assistance of the City of Detroit Law Department, should draft and formalize a MOU to address the working relationship between DACC and FODACC. The MOU would help eliminate the perception of wrongdoing regarding the interactions of DACC and FODACC.
- DACC should remove the donation cash box from its location at 7401 Chrysler Drive.
- FODACC should remove the Chrysler Drive address as their business address and, instead, use an address unrelated to DACC and any building used and/ or owned by the City of Detroit.
The case was closed on Feb. 15, 2023, after a memorandum of understanding had been created and signed by FoDACC president and the city’s General Services Director. The report stated that the donation cash box had been removed from Detroit Animal Care and Control property, and FoDACC had established a post office box as their address.
Friends of DACC loses liability insurance
On May 13, 2025, Friends of DACC announced that the organization had canceled all upcoming external events with dogs and intake of new fosters because they no longer had liability insurance. The statement noted that, “the dog involved in this litigation was never on FoDACC’s care programming, and we were not involved in its placement or management.”
On May 17, 2025, the organization posted an update sharing the steps they were taking, including working with an attorney to be removed from the lawsuit and pursuing new insurance coverage.
On June 16, 2025, the organization posted an update to social media stating that, “It’s been a frustrating month without liability insurance—meaning no foster programs, no Detroit Dogventures, and no off-site adoption events. But your support has meant the world."
They said insurance providers are unwilling to offer coverage due to the pending case.
Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control told Local 4 on June 29, 2025, that they were “aware that we have been named as parties in a lawsuit. At this time we cannot provide any details or further proceedings.”
