A federal judge has determined that a St. Paul police officer was reckless in his handling of a police dog that knocked an innocent bystander to the ground and clamped down on her leg with his teeth.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim found that Desiree Collins’ fourth-amendment rights were violated during the 2017 incident and that she is entitled to damages, according to an order issued by the U.S. District Court of Minnesota.
“Both the city and (the involved police officer) have acknowledged that what happened was a terrible mistake,” Tunheim wrote in his decision. “(Officer Thaddeus) Schmidt’s contention is that his actions, while negligent, did not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. But even taking the facts in the light most favorable to Schmidt, his actions were more than negligent. They were reckless.”
As such, Tunheim ruled in favor of Collins’ motion for summary judgment in her case.
A jury trial will be set at a later date to determine how much she will receive in monetary damages from the city.
Collins filed her lawsuit against Schmidt last December.
He and other police officers last September were responding to a report of a burglary in process at a home about three blocks from Collins’ house on Van Buren Avenue near Dale Street when the incident occurred.
Collins, who was taking her garbage out at the time, was suddenly bit and knocked to the ground by Schmidt’s police dog.
Schmidt was not near her when he announced the presence of a dog, according to the lawsuit, which also notes that Schmidt’s announcement was made some seven minutes before the attack.
The officer also had the dog on a 20-foot leash.
The dog bit Collins’ lower left leg and clamped onto her right arm, eventually knocking Collins out of her shoes as the dog dragged her to the ground, the lawsuit said.
Collins screamed in pain as officers issued 10 “release” commands to the dog and Schmidt tried to use the dog’s E-Collar, an electronic shock device, to elicit her release.
The dog only did so when Schmidt was able to physically remove him from Collins, according to the lawsuit.
Schmidt was suspended from the St. Paul Police Department for one day following an internal affairs investigation into the matter.
While he remains a police officer, he is no longer a K-9 officer.
In April 2017, the city approved a record $2 million settlement to Frank Baker after he was mistaken for a suspect who police were seeking in June 2016, and was bitten by a police dog and kicked by an officer. He was hospitalized for two weeks due to his injuries.
The police department has announced changes to its K-9 policy in the wake of the dog bites.
The St. Paul City Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment about the judge’s ruling.
Collin’s attorney, Andrew Noel, called it a “well-reasoned order” that is supported by precedent.
