CINCINNATI: A federal appeals panel has declined to dismiss a lawsuit against a southwest Ohio police department involving a police dog that seriously bit suspects.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Cincinnati wrote Thursday that a reasonable jury could find that former Officer Nick Clark of Springboro police acted maliciously when he used his police K9 to track two separate suspects in unrelated cases.
Both chases led to bites of the suspects — one an 18-year-old girl who had been caught drinking — and their attorneys say they still walk with limps.
Clark’s Cincinnati attorney, Wil Weisenfelder, says Clark acted reasonably and is looking at appeal options.
The attorney for the suspects who were bitten says he’s hoping the 2008 lawsuit finally moves to a jury trial.
