ST. PAUL -- It was a Saturday night in July. Karen Shafer was in her back yard with friends after a night of barbecuing when she heard a commotion across the street.
She went to check it out, looking over her fence to see that a car thief had run his vehicle into a tree, when Shafer was attacked by a police dog, she claims.
The dog pursued her as she ran toward her house and didn’t let go when his handler gave the orders, Shafer said. As a result, she was injured and taken to the emergency room.
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Shafer has filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking money to cover her medical expenses, lost wages and emotional harm.
Shafer said the financial hit has been significant, but she wants to know why the attack occurred at all.
“I wonder why it happened the way it happened, when there were no suspects by me,” Shafer said, questioning the dog’s training.
St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders declined comment on the lawsuit Friday, citing active litigation, though he confirmed that the dog, Rebel, still is on active duty along with his partner, Officer Matthew Yunker. Linders could not say whether Rebel was removed from duty for any period of time after the incident.
Neither officer nor dog are named in the lawsuit.
According to Shafer, Yunker and a K9 unit supervisor accompanied her to the ER after the incident. The supervisor assured her that her medical costs would be covered, and someone from the department called to see how she was doing about a week later, she said.
But when a claim was filed with the city, initial attempts to negotiate a settlement weren’t successful, Shafer’s attorney, Edward Risch, said.
Once the suit was served and the city attorney’s office became involved, the talks became more productive. The suit had to be officially filed with the courts before the statute of limitations ran out, but settlement discussions continue.
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“They’ve made an informal offer,” Risch said, “but we don’t think it’s enough.”
A mediation session will be held next week, he said.
According to the lawsuit, Shafer was “peaceably visiting with friends in the back yard of her home,” about 12:35 a.m. July 7, 2013, in the 700 block of Van Buren Avenue in St. Paul, when the police dog attacked her.
Shafer said a stolen car had crashed into a tree across the street from her home, so she went to the fence to see what was going on. The suspect ran off, but the dog ran toward Shafer.
“He ran toward my gate,” Shafer recalled. “He was on one side, me on the other. My hand was on the gate and he jumped up and bit it.”
The gate was unlatched, so when Shafer pulled her hand away and ran toward her house, the dog followed her into the yard, she said.
“He took a bite out of the back of my right leg as I was running to my back door,” she said.
The attack spilled into her home’s entryway, Shafer said.
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By then, Yunker was at hand and yelling commands to stop, Shafer recalled.
“He told the dog three times to release, but he didn’t,” Shafer said. “He finally put his thumbs in the dog’s mouth and lifted the dog and my arm off the ground and got him to release.”
The dog bit Shafer on her hand, arm and leg. The injuries required 17 stitches and left significant scars, she and her attorney said.
“Truthfully, I’m thankful he didn’t bite my neck or face or that there weren’t any life-threatening injuries,” Shafer said. “But there was a lot of fear. I just wanted it to be over.”
A call to the city attorney’s office was not immediately returned Friday.
The Pioneer Press is a Forum News Service media partner.
