EdCC student wants $1 million for alleged bites
By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
EDMONDS — An Edmonds Community College student is alleging he was bitten 10 times by an Edmonds police dog during an unannounced training exercise on the college campus.
Adam Taylor, 19, recently filed a $1 million damage claim against Edmonds, Lynnwood and Edmonds Community College.
Taylor says he walked onto campus about 10 p.m. on March 22 to turn in a class project, due at midnight, when he unknowingly walked into an unannounced police K-9 exercise being conducted by the Edmonds and Lynnwood police departments.
But school officials say they had no idea that police ever held K-9 exercises on campus.
Taylor claims there were no warning signs posted that police training was in progress, and no one told him to stay clear of the area.
The incident occurred during finals week, said Edmonds attorney Joseph Bennett, who represents Taylor and a Marysville teen-ager who claims she was bitten a year earlier by the same Edmonds police dog, a German Shepherd named Nico.
"Our hope here is not only that my clients are compensated, but that Edmonds and Lynnwood finally acknowledge and discontinue the reckless practice of training police dogs in a public place," Bennett said.
City officials declined to comment.
The Edmonds and Lynnwood police departments apparently hold regular joint training exercises on campus. The night Taylor was allegedly bitten, the exercise was being conducted around buildings located near the main entrance to the college, Bennett said.
"The ‘suspect’ was a Lynnwood police officer in a protective suit hiding in the bushes," Bennett said. "During this kind of exercise, the dog is off-leash. The command is to get him or find him. These dogs are trained to bite and hold."
According to his claim, Taylor was walking into Alderwood Hall when Nico suddenly knocked him against a brick building and began biting his legs.
Taylor was taken by aid car to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, where he was treated for 10 puncture wounds.
"Adam was wondering whether he was going to survive this," Bennett said.
EdCC officials say they were not aware the two police departments were conducting a tracking exercise that night.
"I have talked with the (college) president and reviewed the other memos we had," said EdCC spokeswoman Susan Kostick. "We had no agreement with the police departments, formal or informal, about training here. And to the best of our knowledge they have not conducted exercises before or after that."
On Wednesday Mayor Gary Haakenson said city officials learned Dec. 4 of the $1 million claim. He said the claim’s been referred to the city’s insurance company.
"Once it goes to the insurance company, it’s a claim and we don’t comment on it," Haakenson said.
Edmonds Police Department officials were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Nico lives with its handler, Edmonds police officer Linda Binkley of Marysville.
Edmonds, Lynnwood and EdCC have until mid-January to respond to Taylor’s claim. No lawsuit can be filed until after that point.
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
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