Clay County couple gets 200k in Police Dog bite case

(AP) — A newspaper reports a western Indiana couple has won more than $200,000 in settlements after a police dog bit their son during a school field trip to a courtroom.

The Terre Haute Tribune-Star reported Friday that public records requests show Michael and Gabriel Abbott of Brazil recently reached out-of-court settlements of $105,000 from the state and $80,000 from the city of Brazil. The couple had sued Clay Superior Court Judge Blaine Akers, the city of Brazil and the Brazil Police Department.

The lawsuit said their son, Jaxon, then 11, was placed in unnecessary danger in Akers’ courtroom in 2013 when police placed marijuana on some students and the drug-sniffing dog bit Jaxon’s leg before being forcibly pried off by officers. The lawsuit said the boy suffered scarring and nerve damage.