Jogger bit by police dog files $520,000 damage claim

The Associated Press

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

The claim filed by Frances Barnett of Marysville is at least the third stemming from the biting of innocent people by Nico, an 8-year-old German shepherd.

Barnett was jogging in Marysville near the home of Edmonds police officer Linda Binkley, Nico's handler, when the dog got out of a back yard kennel and attacked, biting her legs, back and shoulder on Oct. 23.

According to the claim, the dog walked away after the initial attack, then came back and bit Barnett again after she tried to get up and go home. She eventually crawled through a drainage ditch and walked about a quarter-mile home after she was out of the dog's sight.

Police Chief David Stern, who said Binkley was away at the time and would not be disciplined, acknowledged that the claim was filed but would not comment further.

Lou Leigh, executive director of the Washington Cities Insurance Authority, which handles liability insurance for Edmonds, indicated the case would probably be settled in negotiations.

"This isn't the kind of case that will ever make it to a courtroom," Leigh told The Herald of Everett.

"The facts are pretty clear," he said. "It's unfortunate that this happened, and we just want to make it right with (the victim)."

Nico was quarantined a day after the attack and was put down in early November after veterinarians told police he was likely to bite again.

Officials acknowledged that Barnett was the fifth innocent person the dog had bitten in as many years.

Joe Bennett, a lawyer, said he is preparing lawsuits on behalf of two other victims, a Marysville girl who was 15 when she was bitten in April 2000, and Adam Taylor, an Edmonds Community College student who was 19 when he was bitten in March 2001.

The city has rejected a $1 million damage claim filed by Taylor.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company