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10-19-05, 10:56 AM
K-9 Dog Shot, Killed After Attacking New Mexico Deputy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- A Bernalillo County sheriff's detective shot and killed one of the department's dog after it attacked her and would not let go of her arm.
The dog, a Belgian malnois called Bart, was the focus of a pending lawsuit alleging it attacked and refused to release a woman who was chased by police two years ago.
Detective Heather Schreckendgust, 36, was treated at University of New Mexico Hospital for a serious bite wound to her arm after Monday morning's incident. She was discharged Monday night.
Schreckendgust, who was not the dog's handler, was guarding evidence on the perimeter of an area where deputies were seeking a man in connection with a stabbing.
Bart, off his leash sniffing for the man, attacked Schreckendgust. When she couldn't get the dog off, she pulled her handgun and shot the animal.
''Everything happened almost instantaneous,'' Undersheriff Sal Baragiola said.
''Everyone right now just feels bad,'' he said. ''We feel bad for the dog and the deputy. These dogs go into dangerous situations for us all of the time, and there is a feeling that they are part of our law enforcement community.''
Sheriff Darren White spent time with Schreckendgust at the hospital, and said the seven-year veteran was distraught over shooting the dog.
''It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she felt she had no choice,'' White said. ''No one is going to second-guess her for that.''
A federal lawsuit filed by Toni Osborn, who was bitten in October 2003, alleges Bart chewed on her arm ''for minutes, not seconds,'' and that an officer had to put a shock collar on the animal to get it to stop.
Osborn had led police on a 19-minute chase that ended when officers used stop sticks to flatten her tires. Her lawsuit contends that minutes after officers stopped Osborn's truck, Bart was ordered to attack her.
The lawsuit alleges Osborn's arm has been ''rendered into a sort of a weird prosthetic device, still human but dead to the touch.''
The trial is expected next year.
Osborn's attorney, Brad Hall, said Monday the incident with the deputy likely will be raised.
''One of our allegations is that the dog is not well-trained,'' Hall said.
Baragiola could not comment on pending litigation, but said it's common for police dogs to be named in lawsuits. He said many lawsuits question ordering a dog to bite someone, rather than question the dog's training.
Sheriff's officials on Monday called Bart an ''excellent dog'' who served the department well for eight years.
:mad:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- A Bernalillo County sheriff's detective shot and killed one of the department's dog after it attacked her and would not let go of her arm.
The dog, a Belgian malnois called Bart, was the focus of a pending lawsuit alleging it attacked and refused to release a woman who was chased by police two years ago.
Detective Heather Schreckendgust, 36, was treated at University of New Mexico Hospital for a serious bite wound to her arm after Monday morning's incident. She was discharged Monday night.
Schreckendgust, who was not the dog's handler, was guarding evidence on the perimeter of an area where deputies were seeking a man in connection with a stabbing.
Bart, off his leash sniffing for the man, attacked Schreckendgust. When she couldn't get the dog off, she pulled her handgun and shot the animal.
''Everything happened almost instantaneous,'' Undersheriff Sal Baragiola said.
''Everyone right now just feels bad,'' he said. ''We feel bad for the dog and the deputy. These dogs go into dangerous situations for us all of the time, and there is a feeling that they are part of our law enforcement community.''
Sheriff Darren White spent time with Schreckendgust at the hospital, and said the seven-year veteran was distraught over shooting the dog.
''It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she felt she had no choice,'' White said. ''No one is going to second-guess her for that.''
A federal lawsuit filed by Toni Osborn, who was bitten in October 2003, alleges Bart chewed on her arm ''for minutes, not seconds,'' and that an officer had to put a shock collar on the animal to get it to stop.
Osborn had led police on a 19-minute chase that ended when officers used stop sticks to flatten her tires. Her lawsuit contends that minutes after officers stopped Osborn's truck, Bart was ordered to attack her.
The lawsuit alleges Osborn's arm has been ''rendered into a sort of a weird prosthetic device, still human but dead to the touch.''
The trial is expected next year.
Osborn's attorney, Brad Hall, said Monday the incident with the deputy likely will be raised.
''One of our allegations is that the dog is not well-trained,'' Hall said.
Baragiola could not comment on pending litigation, but said it's common for police dogs to be named in lawsuits. He said many lawsuits question ordering a dog to bite someone, rather than question the dog's training.
Sheriff's officials on Monday called Bart an ''excellent dog'' who served the department well for eight years.
:mad: