Dec 25, 2007 1:46 pm US/Central
Award-Winning Police Dog Cited In Lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
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Bryan Lyle Musolf said he was attacked by Tazer "without legal justification" and suffered permanent injuries during the incident in October 2006.
CBS
A man who says he was bitten by a Mower County police dog has filed a lawsuit alleging that authorities used excessive force during his arrest last year.
Bryan Lyle Musolf, 49, filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis against the county and Sgt. Jeff Ellis, who handles Tazer -- a Belgian Malinois that has won five national titles from the U.S. Police Canine Association.
Musolf said he was attacked by Tazer "without legal justification" and suffered permanent injuries during the incident in October 2006. He seeks more than $75,000 in compensation.
Sheriff Terese Amazi said her office still hadn't examined the lawsuit but that Musolf's allegations are "unsubstantiated." Her office investigated a citizen's complaint filed by Musolf and found that Ellis and Tazer followed proper procedure.
According to the lawsuit filed Dec. 5, Musolf was at a home he and his wife own in the Mower County town of Waltham. When his wife arrived to the home, she told him to get out, citing an order for protection.
His wife called police, and Musolf said he left the house and waited in a nearby harvested soybean field until authorities arrived.
Musolf said he was told to stay on the ground, and he says he obeyed. Then he heard Ellis order Tazer to get him, according to the lawsuit. Tazer bit Musolf on his right leg, and Ellis and another deputy had to pull Tazer off Musolf, the lawsuit said.
"Eventually, Ellis and another deputy pulled Tazer off Musolf, who watched as the dog chewed and then swallowed pieces of his flesh," the civil complaint said.
The lawsuit says Musolf continues to suffer "special damages including medical costs." It also claims Musolf's constitutional rights were violated.
Mower County has paid for most of Musolf's medical bills, Amazi said.
According to the criminal complaint filed in October 2006 against Musolf, Ellis had ordered the suspect to lie on his stomach with his hands at his sides, and Musolf failed to comply. Tazer was ordered to apprehend Musolf, who rolled onto his stomach while the dog was biting his leg.
Tazer won his fifth national title in six years at the U.S. Police Canine Association's national field trials in Lakeland, Fla., in October.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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