Woman Bitten by Nebraska Police Dog Gets Settlement

A woman bitten by a Lincoln, Neb., police dog during an overnight training exercise at a city park has settled her lawsuit against the city.

A Lincoln City Council resolution shows that the city settled last month with Krystle Park for just more than $43,805, the Lincoln Journal Star reported Friday.

In light of the settlement, Lancaster County District Judge Karen Flowers dismissed Park’s lawsuit on Tuesday.

Park filed the lawsuit last year after she said she spent more than $54,000 treating injuries to her left leg caused when she was attacked by a police dog on March 28, 2012. The dog, Brix, was in the park around 1 a.m. with his handler for training exercises.

Police said officers had searched the park before beginning the training exercises and believed it to be empty. They did not see Park, police said, because she was hiding beneath a tree in the park.

Park said she was hiding to flee a threatening situation with another person when the dog attacked her.

Attorneys for the city argued that Park assumed the risk by hiding in the park after hours and failing to let her presence be known to police.

“Though she heard the officers, she made no attempts to call out or disclose her location,” police said at the time.

Once the dog bit her, police said the canine handler and a sergeant gave commands for an emergency release and intervened.

Park was taken to a local hospital, and doctors stitched the wound to her leg.

Brix left the Lincoln Police Department in August 2012 and now is a service dog for the Nebraska State Patrol.

Police spokeswoman Katie Flood said his transfer was not related to the park incident.