Police Dog Attacks

Although rarely fatal, police dog attacks too often result in the victim sustaining severe if not catastrophic injuries such as severe lacerations, scarring, nerve damage and emotional trauma. The reason for this is because police dogs are incredibly strong, fast and have teeth that are strong enough to penetrate sheet metal.

Unfortunately, officers frequently deploy police dogs not just for emergencies, but also for low level and non-violent suspected criminal offenses. Police dogs bite thousands of Americans each year, including innocent bystanders. Sadly, there is very little oversight on a national or state level that regulates how police departments are to appropriately deploy their dogs.

Police dog deployment is only lawful when the circumstances dictate that the use of such force was reasonable.

Such force is often unreasonable under the following circumstances:

• The criminal suspect is thought to have committed only a low level and non-violent crime.
• The criminal suspect is not fleeing or resisting arrest, or even if they are fleeing, the suspected crime is minor.
• The criminal suspect does not represent an imminent threat of violence or serious harm to the public, officer, or dog handler.

When an officer deploys a police dog under these circumstances, the victim of the dog attack has the right, and should pursue a claim for excessive force. With this claim, the victim of the dog attack is entitled to compensation for their incurred medical expenses, pain and suffering, and wage loss.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a police dog attack, please contact the Magna Law Firm for the legal help you need. Our firm handles these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay us nothing unless we are able to obtain compensation for you.