Iowa City Settles Police K-9 Bite Case for $49k

The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, settled a K-9 bite lawsuit for $49,001.POLICEThe City of Cedar Rapids has settled a lawsuit in connection to a 2020 incident in which a police K-9 bit a 13-year-old boy. The teen gets $49,000 while his mother, who filed the lawsuit, will receive just $1.

According to the lawsuit, the dog bit the boy multiple times on his arm.

The city attorney said the settlement is not an admission of fault but rather related to continuing and significant legal costs incurred following the mistrial caused by a hung jury in the first trial, CBS2 reported.

The lawsuit had named both the police department’s K-9 unit and Officer Nathan Trimble.

“The City stands behind the actions of the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Officer Trimble, and the canine unit. The City defended the case through trial and was preparing to do so again. However, given the first jury’s inability to reach a verdict and the possibility of a similar impasse in future trials, the City determined that settling was in the best interest of the taxpaying public,” the city attorney said in a statement.

K9 Ace, Trimble, and two other officers were at a park for training. According to The Gazette, when the dog was released, he attacked the young teen. The lawsuit claimed the officers were negligent in training and controlling the dog.

The police report of the incident indicated that when the dog was about 35 yards away, the K-9 handler noticed a change in his behavior. The dog then jumped on a picnic bench.

The officer ran over, and the dog had bitten the boy, who was on the ground beneath the bench. There was no body-worn camera documentation of the incident.

The officers reported they had no intent for the dog to attack; they were unaware the boy was in the park and did not suspect him of criminal activity.