FILER, Idaho — Officials in the south-central Idaho city of Filer have agreed to pay a resident $35,000 after a police officer shot and killed his dog.
An attorney for the city’s insurance company told The Times-News in a story published Wednesday that Rick Clubb will receive the money as part of a negotiated settlement.
“I’m glad it’s behind us,” said Filer Mayor Rick Dunn, who was the target of a failed recall attempt by residents angry over the officer returning to regular patrol duties.
Officer Tarek Hassani responded to a report of dogs running lose on Feb. 8. Hassani’s dashboard-mounted camera shows two dogs circling him, barking at him and sometimes lunging toward him. In the video, he kicks at a 7-year-old black Labrador named Hooch before shooting it.
An investigation by Nampa police cleared Hassani.
“Mr. Clubb suffered a loss,” said attorney Jim Davis, who represented the city’s insurance company, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program. “(But) Officer Hassani was doing the best he could at that moment.”
The settlement signed by Clubb releases the city from any liability in the shooting.
“It shows Filer that Hassani had no right to shoot my dog,” Clubb told the newspaper. “The case is settled,” but it doesn’t bring Hooch back, he said.
Besides Dunn, some residents attempted to recall the entire city council. But organizers didn’t obtain nearly enough signatures to force an election.
Some residents have defended Hassani, saying the dog was aggressive and the officer acted appropriately. They also say Filer has a problem with residents ignoring leash laws and that Hooch would still be alive if he hadn’t been running loose.
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