Retired police dog seriously bites neck, legs (Tennessee)

Dog bite lawsuit settled for $20,000

http://www.herald-citizen.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=2DEC9719-19B9-E2E2-67356BFB9EFEA0C5
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff Thursday, Jan 14, 2010

COOKEVILLE -- A $2 million dog bite lawsuit against the City of Cookeville and the Cookeville Police Department has been settled for $20,000. The lawsuit was filed last year over a bite by Melo, a trained police dog which has since been taken out of service. The incident happened two years ago when Melo escaped his handler, Officer Chase Mathis, and attacked an innocent man who was taking garbage out at a Cookeville bar.

Ryan Patrick Moody, who was working as a bouncer at The Library bar on South Jefferson Avenue back in 2008 and who was attacked by the dog, filed the lawsuit against the city, the police department, the officer, and Police Chief Bob Terry. The suit was based on an incident which happened at 3 a.m. March 14, 2008, when Moody, a college student, walked out the back door of the bar to take the trash out.

Not far away in an area behind the Jefferson Avenue Church of Christ, Officer Mathis had just stopped his car and let the dog out to relieve itself. The dog was not on a leash, and after apparently hearing a noise coming from the bar area, the animal took off running in that direction and attacked Moody.The lawsuit Moody later filed said the dog attempted to bite his neck and that he tried to fight the dog off using empty trash cans. He said he jumped into the bed of a truck, but the dog circled the truck, then jumped up into the truck bed and attacked, biting Moody's leg.

Officer Mathis ran to the scene and worked to get the dog off Moody, and other officers soon arrived and helped get the dog subdued, the suit said. Moody suffered serious leg wounds and had to undergo surgery. The suit claimed that Melo had a history of vicious attacks which were known by the police force and that the police department either disregarded the fact or were negligent by keeping the dog in service.

Last month, the lawsuit came to Circuit Court before Judge Amy Hollars for a settlement which had been worked out between Moody and the city's attorney. Court documents show that in exchange for $20,000, Moody settled his claims against all the defendants forever. The documents also note that the settlement "cannot be construed as an admission of liability" on the part of any of the defendants. "This is full and final release for any and all claims for personal injuries, property damages, pain and suffering, and any and all other claims or actions," one court document says. Moody was represented by Knoxville attorney Brent Morris, and Cookeville attorney Dan Rader represented the City of Cookeville and the Cookeville Police Department.