Man bitten by police dog makes claim against St. Paul

The man seen being bitten by a police dog and kicked by a St. Paul police officer in a dash cam video has made a claim against the city.

Police were responding to a fight call on the East Side on June 24 when they found Frank Baker, 53, sitting in his car nearby.

There is no indication Baker was involved in the initial incident, but officers ordered him out of his car, then turned loose a police dog to subdue him.

Video shows an officer kicking him while he lay on the ground, screaming in pain as the dog bit him. Brian Ficcadenti, the officer who released the K-9 that bit Baker, has been suspended for a month. St. Paul says officer Brett Palkowitsch, shown in the video kicking Baker, is no longer with the police department, although the terms of his separation haven't been made public yet.

Baker's claim came to light when the city council scheduled a closed-door discussion of the matter for next Tuesday.

St. Paul police chief Todd Axtell apologized for the incident to Baker.