EDMONDS – A police dog that bit five innocent people in the past five years has been euthanized.
Nico, an 8-year-old German shepherd, was put down after a veterinarian told the department he was likely to bite again, Edmonds Police Chief David Stern said.
The dog was quarantined for 10 days after it bit a Marysville jogger on her legs, back and shoulder Oct. 23. The quarantine ended Monday night.
The jogger was treated for her injuries at an Everett hospital, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the incident.
The police dog was not on duty at the time. It had escaped from the Marysville home of its handler, Edmonds officer Linda Binkley, Stern said.
Nico was taken off duty after it bit the jogger. Stern said the dog was due to retire on Dec. 31.
Nico is accused of biting four other people, including a 10-year-old girl, a Lynnwood police officer, a Marysville teenager and an Edmonds Community College student.
“It’s sad that it took five victims for the Edmonds Police Department to react,” said Edmonds lawyer Joseph Bennett, who is representing two of the victims. “They didn’t take the first victims’ cases seriously enough.”
Bennett said he expects to file lawsuits soon on behalf of the Marysville teenager, who was bitten in April 2000, and the Edmonds Community College student, who said Nico bit him 10 times during an unannounced training exercise at the college in March 2001.
Stern declined to discuss the attacks in detail because of the possible lawsuits.
Nico was used for conducting searches, tracking suspects and for drug detection, Stern said. The dog’s duty conduct was excellent, he said.
The police department is training a new German shepherd for Nico’s job. Rocky, who will be handled by officer Shane Hawley, will need another eight months to a year of training before he’ll start work, Stern said.
Katherine Schiffner is a reporter for The Herald in Everett.
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